Unexpecting
by Emmamil0904
Summary: Gwen and Arthur face challenges throughout their relationship, but can anything stop them from being together with the help of their friends? Find out as they experiance the unexpected turn of events in 'Unexpecting'. FINALLY UPDATED!
1. Chapter 1

**Soo... hey people :D This is my first fanfic that I have actually published on here. Please excuse my terrible English (even though I am English which is quite worrying) and the cheesyness. As you will probably realise, this is a really crap story but I though _well I'm not going to do anything else with it _so here you go. **

**Try to enjoy it a little :)**

The night's air seemed to bring a shiver down Guinevere's spine, as she paced through the courtyard in the square, staring at her seemingly flat stomach, hands clutched together upon it. Light, reflected off the moon, shone directly in the way of Arthur's chambers, leaving her pondering whether to visit him tonight. Gwen's mind seemed to be racing at a never ending pace, thoughts and options coming and going before she had time to process them; termination, never. Neither would she give their child up to be risen by some stranger. No. She was going to birth this child and love it with all of her being, even if Arthur couldn't be a part of its life. Gwen knew that she would have to leave her home and let Arthur never know of its existence, after all, he was prince of Camelot and she was just a simple maidservant carrying his bastard child. She knew that if Uther ever found out about this, her head would certainly be on the chopping block, dying a weak woman's death.

Just as she came to the conclusion that she would leave, a pair of strong, muscular arms wrapped around her torso, stiffening her body until realising who the male was. Slowly, she relaxed into his embrace as his head lowered to her neck, breathing in her wonderful scent of lavender.

"I missed you today," He whispered, as sweet chaste kisses were placed over her caramelised skin.

"And I you," She replied, trying to keep her breaths at a steady pace, hoping that he would not notice her change in behaviour and size. She was already three months along and still, no one had noticed her small yet well-defined baby bump. By now, morning sickness had eased off a little and the servants in the castle had seemed to stop staring at her every time she ran off to feel the effects of her pregnancy. At first, they peered at her whenever she was suffering, wondering why she was always running off at the most peculiar times. Though she showed signs of carrying a child, the mothers of Camelot never thought anything of the sort, as actions performed to conceive were never acted upon before marriage. She was known as the type of person to be more saints like, assisting Gaius whenever required, playing with the children of the local villages as well as working for the royal family. Performing those actions were frowned upon, at least by those who could have a relationship in public without being threatened with death or being exiled. Arthur and Gwen were nothing of the sort, for their relationship was forbidden by the highest power… the king, otherwise known as Arthur's father.

Guinevere spun around, coming face to face with Arthur, as he brushed a stray curl away from her deep maroon eyes. He rose her chin as her looked her straight in the eyes, sensing something was wrong with her.

"Are you alright, my love?" He asked, a frown appearing on his face.

"It's nothing; I'm just a little tired from today's work. Nothing a few hours asleep will not solve." Gwen smiled, hoping that the excuse would fool her lover; staring into both eyes of crystal blue, looking for any sign of him accepting her reply.

"Come on then, let's get you home. I'll have Morgana drop your work load if it means you being well. I wouldn't want my most precious person on this Earth to suffer now, would I?" Arthur grinned at her with his usual charming smile, which normally attracted the majority of the female population Camelot held. She lowered her hands to his, the softness of his sword welding palm, calming her down instantly, as they began their journey to her house.

"That is very kind of you my love, but I believe it will look suspicious for you to care so much about a maidservants work."

"Nonsense, I am the future heir to the throne and what I say goes," Arthur said, standing proudly in the night's breeze.

"I understand that my love, but what about the present king, the one who could have my head by morning for even speaking to you." Gwen shook her head and their arms swung together entwined whilst taking slow steps towards her small home.

Arthur let out a sigh; turning Guinevere around to face him as they came to an abrupt stop.

"You're the one I love Guinevere, when will you ever learn that you are the only person for me, and that I would give up this kingdom, my throne and my father, to be with you." He gazed into her eyes, as a sudden urge for him was felt in Gwen's stomach. Without hesitation, she reached up and cupped his fair head in her smooth hands, bringing her soft lips with them, crushing against his own. His tongue traced her bottom lip, nibbling it asking for entrance. She accepted, moaning slightly in the back of her throat.

Slowly, his hands crept around her petite waist, pressing her into him as she wrapped her arms around his neck; allowing support for each other. Floating in their own paradise, Arthur and Gwen were unaware of Merlin strolling across the yard. He coughed gently, suddenly noticed by the couple, as they broke away from each other, breathing heavily nerved by the interruption. They stared at each other with wide eyes preparing themselves for their relationship to be revealed. The pair turned around slowly, relieving a breath when it was only Merlin they saw.

"You two should really be careful about where you show your affections for each other," Merlin muttered, Gwen's cheeks a blazing red, Arthur protectively placing his hand of the small of her back.

Arthur coughed lightly. "You do realise who the authority is here, don't you Merlin."

"Yes, sire" Merlin replied as he put his hands in his pocket and turned around, facing his quarters. "Dollop head," he murmured before walking off to his destination.

Gwen rested her head on Arthur shoulders whilst he stroked her soft chestnut curls. She looked up at him through long eyelashes softly saying "You see. Even when dark we have the risk of being uncovered. This can't work Arthur, look at us. We are miles apart yet so close. You have women flocking around you constantly; ones that I could never compare to; ones that could give you everything I never could."

Tears were threatening her causing Gwen to break away from Arthur and hurry to her home, hoping that he would not follow. Her wishes were short lived though, as he caught up to her within seconds; spinning her around, whilst grabbing her waist to support her.

"What has brought this on Guinevere? Does nothing I say even go into you? I love you, okay? I love you more than life itself. You are everything to me," He said whilst cupping her tear stained face in his scarred hands. "One day, when you are ready and we can go out in public, I will make you my wife and here," he placed a hand on her stomach "Is where our very own Pendragon will grow. You are beautiful beyond imagination and I know for certain, my knights definitely have a soft spot for you."

Gwen looked down, ashamed of her words, as Arthur pulled her into his warmth before opening the door to her home. He stepped inside, closing the door behind them and walked with her over to her bed which they now classed as their own. The couple sat down, their hand still entwined on Arthur's lap. Guinevere leant on Arthur's muscular torso, forcing him to lie down, spooning his body with hers. His hand once again rested on her stomach, making Gwen realise that Arthur really did want this child, their child. She remembered his words "I will make you my wife and here," then his hands touched her bump "Is where our very own Pendragon will grow."

Gwen smiled at the memory as she turned to face Arthur. For a long moment they were silent, staring motionless at each other before she asked "What you said about our future, did you mean it; our marriage and children?"

"Of course I meant it Guinevere, if I could, we would leave right now and never look back. I'd marry you in this moment if you would, with my father's permission or not, and I'd love for you to bear my child. He'd have every aspect of you that I adore; your eyes, your smile, your kindness to anyone who needs it. He'd be a warrior and everything else that a future king needs to be."

Tears were welling up in Gwen's eyes, imagining a little boy, their little baby boy; with fair blond hair upon his head and eyes of tiffany blue just like his father. Arthur noticed the drops starting to form as he stoked her stomach soothingly.

"One day Guinevere, one day," he whispered, trying to calm her tears.

Gwen woke the next morning, Arthur still embracing her. She admired his facial features, hoping that their child would take more of a resemblance to him than her. Before she was even able to finish her thinking, a wave of nausea swept over her. She dragged herself from Arthur's grasp gagging at the bile rising, and ran outside before spilling the contents of her stomach.

Just as she turned around, Gwen came face to face with a bed headed Arthur; his hair swept at acute angles as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Hers became larger whilst Arthur stared at her sceptically.

"What's wrong, my love?" Arthur asked, taking hold of her hands in his own.

"Nothing is wrong, I just ate something bad for breakfast," She replied wishing that yet again he would fall for the lies her mouth spilled.

Arthur looked down at her. "You have had nothing for breakfast Guinevere, so please tell me what is going on." His face showed signs of being filled with concern.

"I… I can't," Gwen's head lowered.

"You can tell me anything Guinevere, you know that."

"I know Arthur, but not this; it would ruin everything between us. "

Arthur raised her chin with a single finger, staring into her eyes.

"Nothing can ruin our relationship, not my father, not anything. Whatever happens in the future, you must know… you must know that I love you with all that I possess. "

"I know you do, just like I love you with all my heart, but this is something not to be taken lightly. It with spoil your future, your relationship with the court, Uther, the whole kingdom even."

"Then please tell me, please help me realise what it is, that is going to affect the whole of Camelot."

Gwen let go of Arthur's hands and walked into her home, sitting on the bed that occupied the curtained off side of her home, waiting impatiently for Arthur to follow. As he came in, Arthur shut the door leaving them with the privacy such a conversation was going to need. He sat down besides the woman who always seemed to puzzle him, slipping his arm to the small of her back; offering her the little comfort he could at such a time.

Gwen took in deep breaths whilst Arthur stared at her, waiting for her to speak up. She hesitated for a few brief moments before finally realising that she needed to tell him the truth.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

And within that moment, Arthur froze.

He rose all of a sudden, removing his hand from her back and exited her home leaving Guinevere alone, sobbing into her knees as she retracted into a tight ball; just loose enough not to hurt her unborn child.

Arthur ran and ran, until he finally reached the castle; speeding past the royal guards in the meanwhile. As soon as he reached his quarters after receiving stares from the majority of the staff and nobility, Arthur barged through his door, soon coming in contact with his drawer.

With such enthusiasm, Arthur scavenged through his draws, until he found the gift that he had been waiting all along to present Guinevere with. He soon found the velvet black box at the bottom of one, hidden beneath clothes so his father could not retrieve it back, then exited his room, box stuffed in his trouser pocket.

Meanwhile back at Gwen's house, she lay there on her bed; tears now settled; her eyes reddened from all of her sobbing as she planned what she would do now that Arthur had left her and his child behind. Whilst travelling was not the best idea in her condition, Gwen already knew the only place they would be safe was Ealdor, where she knew Hunith would welcome her back with open arms. Gwen knew that she could not risk staying here in Camelot, where people would judge her as the un-married mother and not the once helpful woman which she really was. No one would understand that this was hers and Arthurs chance to become a family without alerting Uther of anything. But most of all, she was getting rid of Arthur's problem once and for all. He would never have to see her again; the mother of his bastard child.

She quickly packed a bag of her most prized possessions, including shirts left by Arthur whenever he stayed over at her small home, and closed the door behind her as she left for Ealdor, penniless and abandoned from the one person who she believed that she could truly trust in this world.

As Arthur approached Guinevere's house, nerves started to build up within him. He was going to become a father; an idea that hadn't quite sunk in yet. Opening the door, Arthur saw nothing, no Guinevere there awaiting his arrival, no lavender scent that she used after bathing and none of her valuables that decorated her living quarters.

He ran outside, box bouncing whilst doing so until he finally saw her in the distance. Without hesitance, Arthur sprinted towards her, hoping that he would reach her before she disappeared into the forest in which he would have no hope of seeing her again. Suddenly it hit him; bandits!

What would happen if she got attacked whilst he was absent? What would happen to his family that he loved so much? Just this thought alone, made Arthur take off like nothing he had ever done before. Even the sound of battle couldn't make him run this fast.

Within minutes, Arthur was closing in on Guinevere, until he was finally in reach of his target.

Unexpectedly, Gwen felt a pressure on her hips as it held her to a stand-still. She turned around, expecting to see a bandit of some sort but was soon welcomed with the familiar sweet taste of Arthur's lips on her own. He pressed her against him, wrapping his arms around her back; bring her closer to him as he slowly moved her body until they were gasping for air.

When they finally had the strength to pull away from each other, Arthur held Gwen's face as they stared at each other in comfortable silence, gazing longingly into their lovers eyes.

Arthur was the first one to break the silence, remembering why he needed to speak to Guinevere as soon as possible.

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet before speaking.

"Guinevere," He began. "I know I have never been the best with words, but I love you, I will love you forever if you give me the chance; and this child, is the best thing that could possibly happen to us. What I said to you, I meant it. I want this child," Arthur placed his hand on Gwen's bump, "And I want you to become my wife."

Once all was said that needed to, Arthur got down on one knee, removing the box from his pocket. He opened in, to reveal a silver engagement band with a four carat bright green emerald adorning its centre whilst the base featured pure gold.

"So… Guinevere, daughter of Tom the Blacksmith, Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

By now, Gwen had tears streaming down her honey toned cheeks, unsure of what to say or do.

With one hand already in his, she pulled him up before kissing him once more, a smile forming on both their lips before their tongues began massaging each other's . Air became a necessity as yet again, the each pulled away for it, breathing heavily; foreheads pressed together.

"So can I take that as a yes?"

"Of course I'll marry you Arthur," Gwen replied between tears.

Arthur gave a low victorious chuckle, lifting her of the ground, spinning her in circles whilst crushing his lips to her.

"God, I love you Guinevere."

"I love you too, Arthur."


	2. Chapter 2

******Hey people, sorry for taking ages on the update but I wasn't sure if I was going to continue with this story. Since I got a few requests to do so, I did. It's not very good, but it is something. This thing has been a nightmare to do even though it's really rubish. Enjoy a little :)**

A light wind occupied the airs of Camelot; as a quite whisper of leaves rustling in the trees caught the attention of a couple; their fingers interlaced with each other's. They walked in a comfortable silence, whilst their arms swung gently, as they set out for their destination; which happened to be the site of their first date. Guinevere's ring shone in the midday light that cascaded through the woodland above them; the emerald making it known as Arthur caressed it, reminding himself that his life was finally falling into place. A holdall hung loosely on Arthur's back, containing all of the items Gwen had packed in the morning just passed. Though the holdall was not a hindrance to Arthur at all, it was a painful reminder that he almost lost his fiancé and baby that he cherished so much; to his father and the problems that his lifestyle caused.

As they came into the clearing, Arthur removed the backpack and placed it on the forest floor after withdrawing his palm from Guinevere's. Opening the latches, he pealed back the flap and rummaged through her belongings until he found a plaid blanket and a spread of various berries and meats. He helped Guinevere get comfortable on the blanket; although she protested at first, before putting the items onto the covered greenery. He lowered himself besides Gwen; one arm creeping around her shoulder, whilst his hand made circular motions on her bump as she buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"Do you recall the time we were here previously?" he questioned as she raised her head, staring him in those eyes she always got lost in.

"Of course I remember. How could I forget? It was one of the best days of my entire life until well... You know."

Her eyes softened, showing Arthur the painful memories that would haunt the two of them for many years to come.

"Well, let's not dwell in the past," Arthur said his voice now rose, whilst his grinned towards Gwen. "Let's look to the future; our future with our little Pendragon, and the day I have been waiting for since the day I laid eyes on you. Queen Guinevere Pendragon. It sounds right, doesn't it?" Gwen smiled at him before placing a sweet lingering kiss on the corners of his mouth.

"It is always nice to dream Arthur, that one day we can be together with no interruptions, no worries of your father finding out about us and our child; but our life has never been easy." she replied pulling herself from Arthur luscious swollen lips; his arm wrapping around her waist, bringing her body closer to his own.

"I know that it has never been easy, but do you not believe in faith? You taught me what faith really is. I have faith that one day when Father passes, however harsh it may seem, you will take your place beside me as Queen of Camelot with our child as prince or princess waiting until they replace us as sovereign; their gender whichever God decides." he raised her chin, tilting it towards him. Once again, she was lost in a maze that gazed down at her with admiration. Gwen knew undeniably that Arthur needed an heir to the throne, but she also understood that he wouldn't mind which sex their child was. As long as their baby was healthy, Guinevere believed that Arthur would protect and love it with all of his being; just like he did with her.

"I just feel like there is so much pressure on me that I can never compare to. We both know that I should give you a son, just like all of Camelot would wish for, but it's just so exhausting; watching our backs for Uther not to find out about us, whilst carrying your child conceived out of wedlock. Do not get me wrong, I would change nothing of our family; I just wish our baby would be born not as a bastard child. I know it sounds cruel, but that is the reality of it." Guinevere sighed.

"Then why don't we change it? We could get married in secret, only our closest friends as witnesses in front of the lord. That way, he or she will be born into the royal bloodline fully without any of the royal court knowing. Once it is our time to take our place on the throne, they can do nothing about it as you will already be their crown princess."

"It's not as easy as that though, is it Arthur?" Gwen lowered her head once again, as she stared at her bump that was virtually unnoticeable under her lilac corset; which had had to be loosed to comfort their child. "Your father could find out at any moment, like what happened last time we were here. I…I couldn't face it if our child suffered at your fathers hands whether through me or not. My life would not be a problem, as long as you and our Pendragon were okay, then so would I."

Arthur knew this was not so, as she played with her fingers whilst keeping her eyes locked downwards. It worried Arthur, to know that Gwen would give up her life up so easily for him. Yes, he knew how much Guinevere loved him, but nothing of this intensity ever passed her lips, only ever his. If Arthur had to choose who would live, he would pick Guinevere and their baby over himself any day without a second though.

"Guinevere," he whispered. Just her name alone made a shiver run though Gwen's spine as it rolled off Arthur's tongue. "Please, never think like that. Nothing is going to happen to us; we have lasted this long, and have always got out of situations that could lead to our relationship being unveiled. We got through it though, together; and through matrimony, nothing could break us apart. You would have to deal with my snoring and I… well I would have to deal with having this constant thought in my mind of why you, such a beautiful, kind, caring woman, would chose me over any other suitor." His voice softened as he continued his speech, Gwen now having tears running from her eyes. _Hormones; trust them to kick in. _"But I _want_ to be married to you. I _want_ to wake to your mesmerizing, gorgeous face every day for the rest of eternity. I _want_ for us to be a real family, just like any other couple with a child on the way." He leaned in slowly, pressing his lips to each tear that fell on Guinevere's now crimson cheeks.

"Okay," Gwen announced as she pulled away from Arthur, tears now settled. Arthur gave a confused countenance to his fiancé. "I will marry you… before our child is born."

Arthur's expression turned into one of glee as his famous toothy grin appeared whilst he gently grabbed her torso, pulling her onto his lap. Arthur stroked her curls that draped down her spine, interweaving them with each finger, bringing comfort to both of them.

"Thank you so much Guinevere; you have just made me the happiest man alive. I promise you, everything will turn out okay. We will have the life we have always wanted, together, as King and Queen of Camelot," he whispered.

And with that, the sun seemed brighter as it illuminated the small stream that trickled through the forestry, leaving the next rulers of Camelot to sit in tranquillity for at least the rest of a wonderful summer's day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hola people! This has taken me the best part of the day to write. Hard to believe huh? Yup it pretty much is. I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way before I can get onto the 'better' ones. That is basically code for even more terrible writing but a little bigger plot lines. A little soppy eugh but it had to be put in. I'm not sure how much of this story I should write now because personally I don't like it, so it doesn't really give much hope to anybody else. Anyways... on with the story :)**

The door to the cottage slammed shut, alarming Merlin, Gaius, Percival, Elyan and Leon of yet another visitor that had been let into Gwen's small house, as Gwain made his grand entrance. Elyan sat on a wooden stool in the corner, tapping his foot impatiently on the floorboards, whilst Merlin and Gaius were pacing around the main living space, trying to pass time before the couple got back.

"Does anyone know why we have been called here with such short notice?" Gwain asked, breaking the silence. "I have some _very _beautiful young maidens awaiting my arrival, so it better be worth it."

Merlin lifted his gaze that was previously on the ground to Gwain. "None of us know, we were just told to be here by Arthur and Gwen; something about wanting to tell us something?" His words came out as a question, which no one was able to reply to due to the sudden draft of wind caused by the door being opened once again. Sure enough, Arthur and Gwen came sauntering in hand in hand; his concealing the engagement ring Guinevere now possessed.

All of the visitors stood, waiting with anticipation. The pair looked at each other before she motioned Arthur to begin with their news. He stepped forward, thinking of how to begin to ask each of them for so much.

"Now, both Guinevere and I realise that many people would not accept our relationship for who we are in society, but all of you somehow, found it in yourselves not to judge us. You all stood by us when times have been tough and now, we ask if you will stand by us as we join together in matrimony." Arthur turned to Gwen as she gave him a reassuring smile, which made him give a small grin to his fiancé. "The service will be held in secret, with only our closest friends there as witnesses in front of God, and of course my father will not be able to know about our wedding. No one is to speak a word of this to anyone outside of this room."

All of the guests raised their eyebrows as their eyes widened, not sure what to make of the news.

"Well, well, well, who would have thought it? Arthur going against his Uther to settle down," Gwain began, as he sat down on one of the two oak benches that were now beginning to wear away. "Next you be telling us that Gwen's pregnant," He gave a light chuckle, laughing at the impossible. Everybody except Gaius and Merlin followed Gwain's example, giggling at what they all thought was ridiculous.

Arthur coughed gently, breaking everyone's laughter up, catching their attention yet again.

"That is kind of the other thing we wanted to talk to you about."

And within that moment, everyone went silent.

"Y…yo…you mean to say that Gwen is Pregnant?" Elyan asked Arthur.

Guinevere stepped forward as Arthur wrapped an arm around her waist, engulfing her in his warmth. She nodded slowly, a beaming smile spread across her face as well as Arthur's.

"Indeed, I am," Gwen confirmed, resulting in a chorus of gasps from each member of the household.

All were so caught up in a wave of congratulations, that none realised Elyan's exit, until the door banged shut, pausing all of the chatter amongst the crowd.

"I'll go talk to him," Gwen said as she made her way towards the doorway.

"No, let me," Arthur spoke up "It's me that he will be angry with, not you. Besides, you need to rest; we have had a long day." Arthur removed himself for Guinevere's embrace, making his way outside to face his soon to be brother-in-law.

He soon found Elyan, perched on a bench just outside the market square, head held in his hands whilst breathing in deeply. Unsure of how to approach the situation, Arthur took a place next to the knight, hands clenched together.

"I… I know that I did not seek your permission to ask for Guinevere's hand-"Arthur began, before all too soon; Elyan cut him off; as he raised his head from his hands, giving Arthur a questioning expression.

"Do you really think this is about that? This is about you; the fact that you were the one who put her in this situation; hanging her life on the line like a Lillie waiting to fall from its branches. You claim to love my sister, yes?" Arthur nodded solemnly in reply to Elyan's question. "Well if you love her so much, then why are you involving her in something that could get her killed? Our father has already passed at the hands of your father; I cannot let my sister and my niece or nephew do the same. "

"Sir Elyan, I realise that is how one might look at the situation, but it is nothing of the sort. Do you not think that I would not protect both Guinevere and my child with my life? I would _never _put Guinevere in a situation that meant I wouldn't support or care for her. She means so much to me; so much more than my father, my people, and the whole of Camelot; and so does our baby. If you do not believe me, then why am marrying her? Why am I playing in the Lord's hands and he declares us together for eternity? Like Guinevere always says, I could have any woman in the kingdom, but I chose her; not anyone with money, or land; just somebody with complete power over my heart. Now does it sound like I would not protect her with all of my being?"

Both men lowered their heads, thinking of all the other had just voiced; their silence filling the air around them whilst the sound of market traders selling goods disappeared into the background.

"You're right, my lord," Elyan was the first one to break the quietness. "I apologise for the inconvenience of my exit; surely you have more important things to be doing in the castle instead of taking the time to speak to me."

Arthur raised his head and stared at Elyan.

"I do not blame you for your outburst; my reaction would be much of the same if Morgana was in the same position. I just hope you see how much we truly do love each other and that we are ready to become a family. Seen as we will become in-laws in a few short weeks please call me Arthur when nobility is not present; 'My Lord' is too formal for someone of relation to call a person."

"Yes Arthur, and please, there is no need for the 'Sir', I too do not like the formalities of my status."

They rose off the bench, and made their way back to Gwen's house; each now understanding how much of an impact this was going to have of their future.

Opening to door to the cottage, both men stepped in, only to see the knights and Gaius present.

"Where may I ask is Guinevere and Merlin?" Arthur inquired to the men.

"Merlin went with Gwen to see that she rested, they are in the sleeping quarters, sire," Gaius replied as he stood up from his seated position on the rocking chair, grasping onto the table to do so.

"Okay, well I'm going to check on them, I must return to the castle to see Father before he has his own son's head for the sake of it."

With that, Arthur entered into the room where Gwen laid, Merlin sat beside her as she rested. As soon as Arthur came into view, Merlin rose and left the couple to speak of their day. He strode over to her and sat on the chair that Merlin occupied only seconds before hand.

"How are you, my love?" Arthur asked her, placing her hand in his own.

"Very well, I am grateful to Morgana for giving me a couple of days rest," she responded as Arthur placed a loving kiss on their intertwined hands. "I've been thinking, when are we going to have the wedding Arthur? It must be soon enough so I can have a dress that will fit before our baby grows anymore, but far away so that we have time to plan everything."

Guinevere stared at Arthur waiting for his answer whilst he thought about all that needed to be done.

"We will marry soon, my love. I have all the money needed to pay for everything that is required; as well as however much it will cost to ask for a priest's silence. A matter of weeks should be enough for everything to be planned, which means only a couple more centimetres will have to be added to your dress."

"Arthur, how do you know so much about pregnancy? I mean, we have never really discussed the matter before now, but you seem so knowledgeable on the subject."

At this remark, Arthur blushed a vibrant crimson, illuminating his cheeks.

"Well… I had some spare time when Father did not require me for any duties, so I read about it. I hoped that one day soon, you would bear our child, and I wanted both you and our baby to be comfortable throughout your pregnancy. Plus, I had to get prepared myself; nine months isn't enough for me to get myself prepared to be a father. _Father. _That still hasn't sunk in yet."

"Nor me Arthur, but it really is happening and I'm so happy that it is with you. No one else on this Earth could make my any happier than you right now."

He stared at her lovingly, whilst placing his spare hand on her stomach; rubbing it soothingly.

"What are we going to do about Morgana and my father? It's obvious that we are not going to tell them about anything, but what happens when our Pendragon starts making an even bigger appearance? Besides, there is no way that I am going to let you continue working in your condition." Guinevere sighed.

"Then what am I going to do Arthur? I have to work otherwise I will have no income. Before you say what I think you are going to, no I am not taking your money. That would look even more suspicious than quitting a job that I love to do." Arthur let out a long breath that he didn't realise he was holding in. He would never understand how she read his mind like that; how she knew when he was planning something; how when he set out to do something ridiculously stupid, she was always there to stop him before anyone got injured.

"I'll make sure then, that your work load is reduced. There will be no more heavy lifting, no standing up for too long, no council meeting and definitely no working for anyone other than Morgana herself."

"So basically, you are saying that I cannot work anymore?" Gwen questioned.

"Exactly," Arthur replied, a proud grin appearing his face whilst Guinevere's showed anything but.

"Arthur, I have to work. I will be bored, penniless and questioned as to why I have dropped my position, as well as being asked why I am pregnant even though I am not yet wed. "

"Okay, you can continue to work," Gwen let out a relieved breath "But only until you reach your fifth month. By then, it will be quite hard to hide our child and there is no way, that I am putting either of you in danger."

"Fine, my love. I agree with your terms, although we still have to work out what we will tell everybody. The servants will find it strange if I quit for no 'reason'."

"We will work on it when we come to that stage. Now sleep, you have work tomorrow, so you must be well rested. Remember Guinevere, I love you." Gwen Smiled as she buried herself under the blankets that lay about her.

"I love you too Arthur," She sighed sleepily before falling into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Bonjour people. Sorry this chapter is really short but it had to be put in as Arthur and Merlin are meant to be improving on their friendship. Partly that and I didn't know how else to write this part (I have a very particular story plan.) Like always, I'm writing for 'your benefit', so sorry to disapoint you all with it. **

The cool summer's night seemed to have settled in Camelot, as Arthur sat at his dominating beech table, making plans for his wedding to the love of his life. Document after document lay there, all having the attention of Arthur's eyes which were slightly closing before widening again, as he struggled to keep awake at such a late hour.

_Even council meetings do not have this much planning! How am I meant to do all of this is a few weeks on my own? _He though, losing patience with such tedious work. Arthur had made his own decision, that Guinevere would have no part in planning her wedding; saying that it would cause her even more stress which wasn't good for her or their child.

Just as that thought came into his mind, a light knock came to his door.

"Enter," Arthur bellowed, as Merlin strolled into his chambers. "Ah Merlin, I wish to speak to you about something."

Merlin gave Arthur a questioning expression whilst taking a place on one of the calved chairs that matched the table where both men sat.

"Yes, my lord?" Merlin asked.

"As you realise, Guinevere cannot and has got not got time to plan our wedding; so I am volunteering you help organise everything. Do you know what that means for you Merlin?"

"No, sire," he replied.

"Merlin, I am asking you to be my best man. I understand that we have our differences in the past, some more _dangerous _than others, but you have been with Guinevere and I when we needed someone, and for that, we are forever in your debt."

A mischievous grin appeared on Merlin's lean face, as he folded his arms, placing them onto the table in front.

"Are you saying that you couldn't live without me?"

"What, no-"Arthur said whilst Merlin let out a chuckle.

"Yes you are! The Dollop head is finally admitting that he needs his servant. Wow, Gwen really has changed you. Oh well, it really is a shame that I'll have to miss your wedding. Be sure to tell me how everything goes on."

With that, Merlin stood up; pulling out the chair in the meanwhile as Arthur rolled the eyes to the back of his head.

"Wait, Merlin!"

"Yes sire," he asked, an amused smirk appearing on the corners of his well-defined lips.

"Just please, help me sort this out; if not for me, then please… for Guinevere."

Merlin's expression became one of joy, as he was once again seated in the chair that was occupied by him only seconds before hand.

"Fine," Merlin let out a lengthy sigh "But only for Gwen. And I will be attending, just so I don't 'accidentally' get crossed off the guest list."

"Thank you, Merlin," Arthur said, now relaxing in his seat; placing his interlaced hands behind his head. "Now, onto the planning."

"Sire?"

"What is it now Merlin?"

"Can we please, continue this in the morning? It's little past midnight and Gaius will be wondering where I am at such a late hour."

"Okay, fine," Arthur replied; removing his hands from behind his fair head as he started to collect all the papers together. He rose from his place, and hid all of the parchments in a drawer; out of the way of his father's eyes.

"Goodnight, Sire" Merlin said as he exited Arthur's chambers.

"Goodnight, Merlin."


	5. Chapter 5

**Aloah People**

**Two chapter in one day... yeh it may sound good but you might be disappointed.** **Don't be too disheartend by this chapter even if I don't like it. You may have the same opinions, you may have different; and that is what the review section is for. So if you wanna review then do so, if you don't, then that's fine also. I said to some people this will be on before its 12am in the UK and it is so enjoy a little and goodnight :D**

The morning begins with the sound of the early birds, singing along to the rhythm of the trees; rustling in the breeze. Servants bustle around the courtyard, carrying goods for their lords and ladies; whilst they lounge in their chambers; no thought given to those who work so hard for so little. That is, except for one noble; Prince Arthur. He lay in his bed; surrounded by all of the luxury that he will ever need and still, he does not feel pleased. No, he feels a wave of selfishness drench over himself.

_What have these people done to deserve such hard labour? What have I done for them to owe me such a debt; as they work long hours, whilst I sit here like I am the Lord; demanding everything at the click of my fingers? I use to be like that; I still am like that to Merlin. Goodness, why am I so heartless towards people? My father is not to blame for once. I could have said no; I could have said no all of the privileges, like all of the ladies that have been in my presence. Though nothing ever happened between any of them, I still took them for granted; I took them for possessions rather than people. So why did Guinevere choose me? She knew my reputation, knew what she was getting into; yet she still loves me. Although people may say that I am the most eligible bachelor in the whole kingdom, I do not see why. For so many years, I thought I knew; I thought that money and power made up for everything, but now I see that those things do not matter, they do not mean as much as the person who is inside. _

For once, Arthur wished Merlin would be early; as his thoughts made his restless and unsettled whilst he recalled all the bad things done in his short lifetime.

As if on cue, Merlin opened the door and stepped inside quietly, before striding over to the Pendragon red drapes that hung over the grand windows, pulling them open to allow the sunlight to flood into the room.

"Rise and shine, my lord," Merlin sung as he turned around; approaching the drawers that held the entire contents of Arthur's daily clothing. "Oh, you're awake," he suddenly realised.

"No Merlin; I'm sleeping with my eyes open. Of course I'm awake! We have things to do, weddings to plan; and I, have a meeting with my father in a matter of half an hour."

"Sire?" Merlin asked.

"Yes Merlin?"

"The meeting is in a quarter of an hour, _dollop head," _Merlin whispered the last part; just quite enough for the prince not to hear. _What would he do without me? _

"Very well, quarter of an hour it is. Whilst gone, I expect you to be getting on with the planning for the ceremony. You will be relieved of your cleaning duties until further notice. The plans are inside the second drawer to the left, underneath all of the clothing and Merlin," Arthur said.

"Yes, sire?"

"Make sure nobody sees unless they have been told of the engagement. My father must not find out at any means necessary. Do I make myself clear, Merlin?"

"Yes, Sire," Merlin repeated once more, before placing Arthurs clothing on the bed.

Arthur rose in just his breaches, removed his clothes from the bed and disappeared behind the dressing divider.

Once dressed, Arthur left his chambers; leaving Merlin on his own to decide on everything from flowers to the outfits worn by everyone attending.

As the prince walked down the hallways of the castle, maids and manservants bowed as a sign of respect, whilst others gave a chorus of 'My Lord' or 'Sire' including one which was all too familiar to Arthur's ears. As he raised his head from staring at the tiled flooring, his eyes fell upon Guinevere; a basket embedded in her hip whist she gazed lovingly up at her fiancé.

"Guinevere," his words came out in a whisper as he gently grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the now deserted hallway into one of the guest rooms. As soon as the door was bolted shut, he pressed his lips against hers; as she dropped the basket onto the floor; somehow managing to keep all of the linens inside. Softly grasping her hips, Arthur pulled Guinevere into his warmth; the two of them moulding together perfectly whilst their mouths moved in sync with each other's.

Gasping for breath, they moved away from the other slightly; both pairs of lips swollen and agape while their foreheads were pressed together.

"Good morning beautiful," Arthur said breathlessly, as he saw a blush creep upon Guinevere's cheeks. "And good morning to you too, my little Pendragon." He removed himself from Gwen's embrace before bending down to place an array of kisses over her swollen stomach.

"Good morning, Arthur," She said in-between laughing at her fiancé's foolishness. Gwen pulled him up from his current position, gripping his hands in hers. "However much I want to stay with you for today, I must go; Morgana is waiting for these clothes to go riding in."

"Guinevere?"

"Yes, Arthur?"

"Please tell me that you are not joining Morgana today on horseback"

"Of course I am not going riding with her, she is going with Uther. Apparently they are meeting with an ally at the boarders; something to do with giving them a welcome to Camelot. However much I wish to stay with you Arthur, I must return."

"Okay my love, just please be careful."

After placing a chaste kiss on Arthur's lips, she picked up her basket and swept out of the room.

_What did I do to deserve her?_

Arthur took in a deep breath before entering the great hall, preparing himself for what was to come. Only on serious occasions did he meet with his father alone; and this was the thing that concerned him the most. Upon opening the intimidating wooden doors, Arthur noticed his father; staring intensively out of the stain glass window that overlooked the square.

Without even turning to inspect who had just entered, Uther began with his speech.

"Outside of these four walls lie our people, Arthur. These are the ones who rely on nobility like us to keep them safe; to make sure that they can live the best way possible for someone of their status. "

He spat the last word out, as if it was a foul taste in his mouth.

"They are the ones we are meant to look after. We are meant to ensure that they have strong monarchy, which will be there when times are tough. Do you see where this is going Arthur?" Uther turned towards his son.

"I'm sorry Father, but I do not."

"What I am saying my boy, is that I think that it is time that you wed for the sake of the kingdom." And within that moment, Arthur's world froze.

"W...Wh…What?" Arthur stuttered. "I'm sorry Father; I thought you said marry."

"That is exactly what I said. You shall be married to the Lady Vivian by the end of the month."

"Bu…but Father, do you not believe you are being irrational. I have only met the lady a handful of times; I do not truly love her."

"Of course you will not; you will learn to love her, as you will unite both Camelot and Olaf's land together as one. Marrying her will result in heirs; heirs that we need to carry on the Pendragon name. I"

"Father, I cannot marry someone that I do not love. You can't surly let me wed somebody that will never make me happy. It may sound selfish my lord, but do we not deserve happiness as well as the citizens? "Arthur gave his father a pleading look, hoping that for once in his lifetime, Uther would agree on something that Arthur wished for. `

"I can see where you are coming from Arthur, but you will marry the Lady Vivian by the end of the month and that is final. Both she and King Olaf are arriving today to arrange everything that needs to be done before the big day. Morgana and I were set to be leaving a while back to meet them at the boarder but since you showed late, our plans have been affected. By the time we return, you will be in your most exquisite clothing. You will take her out and make her feel wanted. Do I make myself clear?"

Arthur nods his head. "Yes, My Lord." With that, Arthur exits the hall, heading straight towards his chambers; ignoring all of the pleasantries given off by residents of Camelot as he began to come up a solution to this untimeliness turn of events.

**It's a bit of a sore way to end the chapter but the next will follow up so no worried :)**

**Btw, i just wanna say, thanks to all the people that have reviewed, added it to story alerts or their favourite list and for all the advice given; it means a lot. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hallo people! This chapter is kinda rushed as I wanted to finish it quickly. It's not very long but oh well. Like always, Hope you enjoy it a little if not a lot :)**

Arthur came storming into his chambers, slamming the door once though; causing Merlin to yelp in fright. Once closed, Arthur slid down the back of the doorframe; his head in his hands as the barriers broke to allow tears to escape his eyes.

"Why does this always happen to me, Merlin?" Arthur looked at him, as droplets of the salty substance fell down his face. "Have I really caused so many problems in my lifetime that I am to be forever punished?"

Merlin rose from his chair at the engraved table and walked over to his master, sliding down the wall to Arthur's level taking a place next to him.

"I'm sorry sire, but I do not know what you are talking about."

"I'm talking about the fact that my father and Morgana have just left, to go and meet my future wife!"

"Gwen?" Merlin questioned; giving Arthur a puzzled expression.

"Yes Merlin, because Guinevere is not in this castle right now; working when she should be resting! Of course not you prat! I am talking about the Lady Vivian; the one who my father has been planning to marry me to for the sake of this kingdom."

Arthur knew that he was being cruel to Merlin for no reason; but at this particular minute, it could be anybody and he would have reacted the same way.

"Arthur, when you said that Morgana has gone with Uther, does that mean that Gwen has gone too?" Merlin asked; unfazed by Arthur's rudeness.

"Do you really think so little of me, that I would let my pregnant fiancé out riding? She is in the castle doing her job, however much I wish that she wasn't. Why can she never be with me, here? For once, I wish that we could be here together, without worrying about anyone finding us."

An hour later, and the prince was just beginning to regain himself as he suddenly stood up, holding onto the frame to steady himself and walked to the leather sofa that sat in front of the grand fireplace. He lowered himself down onto the cushioned seat and closed his eyes; trying to block out all of the thoughts that were speeding through his mind.

Without Arthur noticing, Merlin slipped out of the room and headed to the one place where he knew he'd find Gwen.

Upon entering Morgana's chambers, Merlin noticed that it was seemingly quiet with the exception of a simple tune being hummed from behind the dressing partition.

"Gwen?" Merlin shouted, hoping that it would startle her less than if he was to sneak up behind her.

"Merlin," she replied, emerging from behind the screen with yet another basket at her hips.

"Thank God I found you! Arthur has finally lost it, he has been in tears for quite some time; something that I've definitely never seen before."

Right away, Gwen put the basket on the floor and speed-walked all the way to his chambers; being careful to lift her dress slightly to stop her tripping up; injuring both her and their child.

As the door to Arthur's room creaked open, Guinevere stepped in; immediately noticing him on the sofa; his eyes inflamed from all of the crying done. She locked the door behind herself in case anyone was to disturb them and turned to stare at her fiancé. Silently, she crept over to him until she reached the couch where he now laid asleep. Lowering her head, she placed light chaste kisses on each of his closed eyelids, before placing one on his slightly parted lips. His eyelids started to flicker as slowly, Arthur started to waken.

At first, Arthur could not believe his eyes. _Surly Guinevere would not leave her job to come visit me. _He thought to himself, as his elevated his hand to her soft silky skin; caressing her cheeks to make sure that he was not dreaming.

"Good afternoon, my love," Guinevere said as Arthur's hands wrapped around her torso softly; bringing her onto his muscular chest.

"Good afternoon, my darling Guinevere," He placed a sweet lingering kiss on her rosy lips; savouring the taste of fresh strawberries and honey from her mouth; something that Gwen had been craving for quite some time.

"Good afternoon, little Pendragon," Though the couple had not yet come up with any names, that was the one that had seemed to have stuck. Arthur began to rub Guinevere's abdomen gently as she set her hand down on his; a volt of electricity passing through them.

"Whatever happened with your father, Arthur?" Gwen asked, cautious of how he would react to her question.

He let out a heavy sign, knowing that it would be hard to lie to the one person who knew him better than he knew himself.

"My father wishes for me to marry; for me to carry on the Pendragon line."

Gwen sat there in his arms dumbfounded, finally releasing a deep breath.

"Well, there goes our happy ending, Arthur," She finally whispered; her voice breaking with each syllable. Gwen held onto his wrists before pulling them from around her and standing up; brushing the imaginary dust from her loosened lilac dress. Arthur soon became aware of what she was planning to do.

"Guinevere please," He pleaded. "Please stay here to discuss this; you haven't heard of what I have to say."

"What is there to say, Arthur? Just face it; we will never be more than two people who were never meant to be together. We fell in love Arthur; but what do we have to show for it? We can never be married with your father in the way, nor can we live as a family together without our relationship being frowned upon from the people who need you as their future leader. This has to stop Arthur." Gwen tried to hold back the tears that were threatening her, but it was too late. A single droplet fell from her chocolate eyes as she turned and exited Arthur's chambers after unlocking to door.

"Guinevere! Guinevere, please wait!" But it was too late.

**Sorry to leave it on such a quick note :(**


	7. Chapter 7

**Tansi (hello in cree) people. This chapter is basically just a filler type thing. I had to start it all again at 11pm because I missed a big part out so it's not the best and it's only 1,000 words literally. You can count if you want :) **

Just as Merlin approached Arthur's chambers, a tearful Gwen passed her; a quiet sobbing escaping her lips.

"Gwen, Gwen are you alright?" he asked as she ran past, ignoring all of the stares given off by the servants. He worriedly went in to Arthur's room to find him on his bed; head buried in the vast amount of pillows that lay there; whilst a soft noise came muffled from the prince.

"Sire?" No reply. "Arthur?" Yet again he didn't say anything. "Dollop head?" And that time, his head shot up; Arthur's eyes bloodshot from all the tears shed.

"You are dismissed for the rest of the day, Merlin," he croaked; his voice broken and defeated.

"I'm sorry sire but I am staying here, you need someone's company; even if you wish not to tell me what happened between Gwen and yourself."

"Sh...She broke up with me, Merlin. She said that we... we were not meant to be together, even though we love each other. What's that even meant to mean? If we love each other, then why should we not be wed? Why can we not love each other without fearing my father or any of the other nobles? I never asked for any of this; I never asked to live here in a fancy castle; having everything I could ever dream of except the two people that mean the most to me in this world. All I have ever asked for is to live with my now ex fiancé and child; not my father and Morgana. Knowing father, he will have Morgana married off by the end of the year; to a nobleman no less; possibly to prevent a war from happening. What has my life become, Merlin?"

Just before he was about to reply, Arthur had already done it for him.

"I will tell you what it has become; a lie. One big lie that I cannot escape from. A lie that I enjoy so much because I get to be with the woman and baby I love with all of my being, though I hate it at the same time. I despise having this constant reminder that my father is on my case, every second of everyday. All I ever think is that I have to make my father proud; that I have I be like him. As the days come closer to being a father, I now see that I shouldn't be like Uther; I should follow my own beliefs and rules. For that reason, I have decided to leave Camelot; if Guinevere chooses to follow me, then it is her own choice, although I will be there whenever she needs me, always. I just can't deal with this anymore."

"Sire, do you not think that you are being irrational? You cannot leave Camelot without Gwen. I know that you want what is best for her; but being an unwed mother; to the prince's child no less, that is not what I call the best solution."

"So what do you suppose that I do, Merlin?" Arthur said, now losing all hope that he would get Guinevere back.

"Just please, go and speak to her. I will send a scout out to tell your father that you are sick and cannot see Vivian today, then get Gaius to back up the story. Now go Sire. I know that I have no authority to speak to you like that, but you really need to see Gwen."

With that, Arthur stood up and ran to Morgana's chambers, hoping that that was where she would be. Before he even entered the room, Arthur heard Gwen talking through the gap where the door had been left open.

"You see baby, me and your father love you very much, much more than you will ever know. For that reason, we can never be together; we could never risk your safety for our relationship. However much I wish that we could be together, it is impossible. It was just a dream that got out of hand. When you grow older, you are never being in love sweetheart; I will never and I mean never, let you feel the way that I am feeling right now. Do you know how it feels, baby? It feels like the life is being sucked right out of me, whilst a sword is being put, right through my heart."

Her words brought even more tears to Arthur's eyes, as he retreated once more, back to his room.

This time however, Arthur did not let the tears affect his actions, as he took a place at his table after removing the marriage documents from his drawers.

"You know, I have planned to majority of the things needed," Arthur turned around, to find Merlin leaning against the doorframe. "The scout has been sent, the priest has been notified of your wedding and has promised by a legal contract to keep it a secret, Gwen's dress is being tailored, your chainmail is being shined and the ceremony has been planned out."

For once that day, a toothy smile appeared on Arthur's face.

"Thank you, Merlin. I know that I don't say it enough but you really are a true friend."

"I know," Merlin remarked before sitting down on one of the chairs after walking over to the prince who has ignored his servant previous comment.

"By the way, Merlin, Gwen doesn't know that we are planning this wedding. We will set it for next week, by then everything will be sorted for me to leave and if she wishes to marry me and leave then so be it and if she doesn't well, no… I can't think like that. What am I going to do if she says no, Merlin? I have always wanted the best for her, but I never realised how hard it would be; when it hurts so much to be away from her."

"I'm sorry sire, but that is a question that you need to ask yourself."


	8. Chapter 8

**There is no denying that this chapter isn't rushed because it is. I just wanted to finish and publish it today before the 10th although it is already the 10th in England so i had a matter of 3 minutes to publish it... make that two. Its not got much in it but it had to have this little chapter in. **

Uther arrived in Camelot little past five o'clock, worn from the long day's riding. Immediately, he called Gaius to meet with him, concerned with the sudden news that Arthur was ill. Leaping off his grand stallion, the king met with the physician almost as soon as his feet touched solid ground.

"My lord," Gaius greeted Uther.

"Gaius, I have received some worrying news that Arthur has come down with some sort of illness that has appeared out of nowhere. I was wondering if you could pay a visit to his chambers straight away."

"Yes sire, of course." With that, Gaius turned on the ball of his heel and headed in the way of Arthur's chambers after bowing to his master.

Just before Gaius knocked on the prince's door, he heard a shuffling of papers as a quiet mumbling sound escaped the cracks where the hinges met the door frame. He tapped the barrier gently and soon stepped in after a "enter" had passed Arthur's lips.

Upon entering, he noticed that both Arthur and Merlin were stood in front of the table, hiding whatever papers that they were shuffling only moments before hand. As soon as they saw Gaius' face, they relaxed; moving away to show him the scatter of sheets all over the wooden table top.

"What on Earth is going on here?" Gaius asked.

Merlin turned to see if Arthur was going to Gaius the truth about the whole situation. The prince nodded, indicating that Merlin should tell his guardian what had happened between Guinevere and him.

"Well… the thing is…" Merlin was unaware how to approach the situation due to Gaius' love and care for Gwen.

"Merlin, just please tell Gaius and hurry up about it; it's making it even more difficult than you saying it right out," Arthur complained, not wanting to relive the turn of events for a longer period than what he needed to. He moved over to the roaring fireplace as he took a seat on the leather sofa; out of hearing distance from Merlin and Gaius.

"Basically, Uther is marrying Arthur to the Lady Vivian even though he was meant to be marrying Gwen. Arthur told Gwen what had happened and she said that they were not meant to be together, so she split from him. Now, Arthur is leaving Camelot; he is finally escaping Uther's grasp that he has on him and if Gwen wants to go with him then so be it. We are continuing to plan the wedding for next week, although she knows nothing of it. We are going to organise everything; then on the day, she will have to make her decision. But please, you cannot tell her," all of Merlin's words came out so fast, that Gaius barely had time to process them. "Oh and, you need to tell Uther that Arthur is ill and is not to be seen by anyone until further notice."

"I fear though Merlin, that one day it may come back to haunt you all; no matter how far in the future that may be," Gaius warned although Merlin was having none of it.

"Gaius, you know Arthur and Gwen's destiny, we have to make sure they reach it. Arthur being married to another woman is out of the option. We have to get him out of Camelot, with Gwen in tow and get them married. This isn't just about them anymore Gaius; this is also about their child. What would they do without a father in their life? What would happen when the other children picks on them because they will be known as the bastard child of the town? Trust me Gaius, I grew up without a father the majority of my life and I know what it feels like to want to curl up and hide away from everybody. I never even had a chance to know my father; I met him once in my entire lifetime; and that was on the day of his death. I would never and I mean never, put their child in a situation like that."

Gaius nodded slowly, absorbing all of Merlin's words.

"Okay, I will help you, but this better work Merlin; I dread to think what will happen to all of us if Uther finds out of this. I now must see the king and tell him how his son is so ill that he cannot see the Lady Vivian but his life is out of danger." Just as he was turning to exit, Arthur spoke up.

"Thank you, Gaius. You have no idea of how much I appreciate this and I know Guinevere will too. Just one more thing; can you please notify Elyan, Leon, Gwain and Percival of the situation; including the fact that Guinevere is not to be notified."

"Yes, sire," Gaius said before exiting the chambers; relieving a sigh once the door slammed shut.

_Why did I get involved in this? _Gaius wondered as he stalked down the hall. _"Ah yes, for the future king, queen and their child. The world is soon to be a much better place for them all, and I wish them the best of luck for all that is to come." _


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello people! First off, sorry that i didn't upload in a few days even though it is short but i had to study for my exams that are coming up and some that have gone. Next i apologise for it being so short but i wanted to get closer to the wedding. Finally it's not good so if you don't wanna carry on reading then okay, i wouldn't blame you really. Yes I sound seriously unhappy but I'm not so all's good :D Enjoy?**

Three days had passed since the engagement to Gwen and Arthur had been 'called off', and still Gwen was feeling worse than she had ever felt in her twenty-two years. The world seemed to be spinning, yet she was still; stuck in a place where she didn't realise what was happening around her.

As the days grew closer to Arthur and the Lady Vivian's wedding, Gwen felt her chest tighten a little more; making it almost impossible for her to breathe. At this moment, she didn't care if she lived or died; life was nothing without Arthur in it. The only thing keeping her alive was the thought that her baby needed her; if not both of its parents. She had thought once more about leaving Camelot, but as the days drew closer to her giving birth, going travelling alone was not the most ideal thing to do.

Nights were worse for Gwen, as when all of the days hustling and bustling was done, her house was left in an eerie silence; leaving Gwen to her thoughts which were only filled with memories and dreams of Arthur. If the images were not of her former fiancé, they were of their child; a fair headed baby with icy eyes that lay cradled in his mother's arms. She knew that once her child was born, it would be a constant reminder of his or her father.

At the moment, the only positive outcome was their son or daughter and once they were born, Arthur would never have to see Guinevere again. Once brought into the world and strong enough to travel, they would move to Ealdor; far away enough from Uther, Camelot and Arthur.

Arthur on the other hand, had not had a moment to think of anything for the last three days. Between planning his wedding to Guinevere, the prince also had to perform his regular duties as the heir to the throne as well as sort out a living space for him to live in outside of Camelot.

However much that Arthur missed seeing the mother to his child every day, he knew that in the end, everything would turn out alright. Yes, the possibility of Gwen rejecting him was still possible, but he had to believe that they would self-exile together and live as a family; even if they had to watch behind their backs for Uther every day of their lives.

By the time Arthur and Gwen were apart from each other for four days, Arthur had everything that he required to mend his relationship with the love of his life. With the help of Merlin, Gaius and the knights everything was set for the following day; the day that was also supposed to his wedding day to Lady Vivian.

He just had to hope that everything had been planned to perfection so they got away without alerting anyone who didn't know of their relationship.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello people :D For the people who read the note, chapter 10 HAS been deleted from this story and this is now the replacement. The day in the story will be split up as I have so much work to do but I want to keep updating sooner rather than later. So... I need to ask everyone a question. I have to write a story for one of my exams, it has to be first person and can't be a fanfic. Has anyone got any ideas since it is meant to be for an audience and not myself? This is my last chance at doing this exam because I only got a C on my last one.**

**Anyways enough babbling, onto the story. **

"Arthur," Merlin whispered as he entered the prince's chambers, being careful not to slam the door as he closed the towering object. "Arthur," he asked once again as a soft snoring noise came from the bed where he lay.

"Hmm…," Arthur muttered as his eyelids slowly fluttered open, bringing into view a beam of the dawn's sunlight. He blinked a couple of times before giving Merlin a questioning look.

"Come on Dollop head, time to get up," Merlin said, approaching the Prince's bed.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked his voice husky and hoarse.

"Yes Sire?" Merlin replied.

"OUT!" Arthur screamed as he pointed his hand towards the door.

"Um… are you not forgetting something, my lord?" The servant inquired; a smile playing on his lips.

"What could I possibly be…?" Realisation suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Arthur shot up from the array of sheets and pillows, jumping out of bed as Merlin's grin grew wider.

"We have to go!" Arthur stated as he hid behind the dressing partition. "What time is it Merlin?"

"Uh… a little past four, my lord," Merlin informed his master as Arthur revealed himself from the divider; one leg in, one leg out of his trousers. "There are hardly any guard around the servants quarters so we will slip out from there."

"Right then Merlin. Is everything packed up worth extreme importance?"

"Yes, sire. A lot of your belongings have been sent to Ealdor, where my mother has put them into your soon to be place of residence. I hope you do not mind, but I ordered some dresses to be made for Gwen. They are plain because we all know how much she loves to sew and she will have hardly anything to do in Ealdor if you have anything to do with it." A sheepish smirk hit Arthur's face. "She will need some more outfits soon so I bought ones that gradually got bigger and since most of her belonging are being left in Camelot, the more items she has the better. That is of course everything except what is going to be needed for today's ceremony."

At Merlin's last statement, a huge grin from ear to ear (not literally) appeared on Arthur's face.

_Today's the day. _He thought. _Today's the day I marry the love of my life._

* * *

_Today's the day. _She thought. _Today's the day I lose the love of my life. _

Gwen's eyes slowly drifted open as a single water droplet fell from her bloodshot eyes after a tedious, restless night from thinking of Arthur.

She pondered what he was doing right now.

_Was he thinking of her? Thinking of his child? Or thinking about his fiancé who would be meeting with him at the alter in just a few hours' time? _

"Stop it Gwen!" she scolded herself "You chose this; you said that we could never be. Now look at you; pregnant, unwed and wishing that A…A. You can't even say his name. What is happening to you?"

She placed her hand on her swollen torso, rubbing it gently with her palm; bringing almost sudden calmness to her.

"Daddy's getting married today, my sweet child. He's marrying for his father's sake as well as the kingdom's, not for love, to a Lady no less. She is very beautiful, much more beautiful that I could ever be. Even though daddy always said that I was the light that brightened up the dark, I never see it. I never see what he ever saw in me. He claims that he loves me, but I know that his love will soon pass; it will pass onto the Lady that he is to wed. One thing I know for sure is that he will always love you, no matter if you were born out of wedlock; you were conceived with love and that is one thing I will always cherish. But it's just you and me now, my little Pendragon." She whispered. "It's just you and me."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey people :D I know it's been about 3 days but I have been so busy and ill that I just haven't had the time to write this. Some people might be getting annoyed that the wedding still isn't up yet but I promise that it will in the next couple of chapters. AND... I actually came up with a story for my English exam yay :) although my teacher will probably be horrified with what it is about. Oh well... Onto the chapter (this one sucks!)**

"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed as they entered the woodland outlining Camelot. "Merlin, come on you fool; we haven't got all day! I do actually want to be married by the time that the sun has set."

Merlin appeared from behind a large oak, a crème box in his arms that contained the dress Gwen was due to wear. "Dollop head," Arthur turned around at Merlin's nickname for him.

"Excuse me," he asked.

"I said Dollop head. As you are no longer a prince, I am technically allowed to call you such things and besides, I am no longer your servant either. I just chose to follow you because I am best man and I want to help Gwen. Oh, and I am partly doing it for the fact that you are paying me extra for helping you."

Arthur's eyes widened as a smile formed on the corners of Merlin's lips. Just as Arthur was about to speak Merlin continued; sensing that his friend wasn't all too impressed.

"Don't worry Arthur; I am only jesting with you. You have to save your money as you now do not have such privileges a royal would have. I'm still trying to get the idea into my head that Arthur Pendragon, the most spoilt brat in all of the five kingdoms wants to become a peasant."

Arthur shook his head slowly before replying to Merlin. "Yes well, this is what you do for the people you love and that is exactly what I am doing for Guinevere and our child."

"I must admit, though I would never normally say such things, but what you are doing Arthur is very noble of you."

"Yes well there is a reason for that, I am a noble."

"Correction Arthur, you were."

* * *

Gwen was numb. She had now removed herself from her small bed and was pacing aimlessly around her home whilst listening to the constant patter of footsteps outside. She knew that the citizens where heading to the castle, where they would see the new royal couple marry, leaving both her and Arthur in eternal suffering. _Why? Why, you stupid, stupid woman did you let him get away? Why did you let him go in your time of need? He loves you, and you just threw him away because of what Uther says. Uther is not going to be alive forever you know, and when he passes, Arthur still can't be with you. You have done this. What will happen when your child gets picked on because of who his father is? What will happen when your child hates you because you separated them from their father?_

So many thoughts were racing through Gwen's mind that she almost missed the knock that came to her wooden door.

"C…come in," She stuttered; trying to hide her sadness from her visitor.

The latch opened and in stepped Merlin, hands dug deep in his trousers as he tried to catch his breath.

"What on Earth happened to you?" Gwen questioned. "Shouldn't you be with A... A… you know who?"

Just as Merlin regained his breath he replied to her question. "No. I told him straight; if he does not come after you, then I will not stick by him marrying the Lady Vivian. He may be my master, but you are my best friend, and I would never and I mean never go against you."

Gwen felt a lone tear fall down her swollen cheeks, as she realised what that meant. He had chosen Camelot and Uther over his own family.

She fell back against the wall behind her and slid onto the floor below; curling up into a loose ball.

Merlin crouched down, coming face to face with a crying Gwen, her eyes bloodshot and blurry.

"Come on Gwen," Merlin said as he held out his hand towards her. "We are going out to get our minds off what is happening today. It's not good for anyone to be cooped up all day alone. You need to walk, get some fresh air; it will do both you and your child the world of good. Why don't we go to the woods for a stroll; let the wind carry all of your thoughts away." He gave her a reassuring smile.

With that, Gwen raised her hand, gripping onto Merlin's as he lifted her up onto her feet. She wiped the tears from her sodden eyes before grabbing the closest cloak that she could find; a deep violet hooded cape that was thicker for the winter months to come, and followed Merlin out of her house, heading towards the forest where her future lay ahead.

* * *

Uther was in his chambers, sat at his desk as he waited to be called to the grand hall for the long awaited union of his son and the Lady Vivian.

_I am so proud of my son. After all these years, all these quests that Arthur has completed, this is by far the best thing that he has ever done; I finally get Olaf's land that I have always wanted. Camelot is expanding closer to the coast and I will be making more money from taxes off the residents. I must see him now. I must tell him how much this means to me for him to be fulfilling his duty as crown prince._

And with that, the king exited his chambers to head towards Arthur's, not knowing what was about to happen.


	12. Chapter 12

**Bonjour people! Sorry that it has been about a week since I updated but I've had family over from Australia who I have not seen in 8 years so that has taken priority plus school and the olympic torch came though my town yesterday so... yeah. This chapter ain't the best so just bear with me because I might change it. :) **

My Lord,

By the time you will be reading this, I will be gone. You took so much from me, yet you never realised it. You are so blinded by your hatred for anyone below your status that you do not realise that your actions make so many people unhappy; I being one of them. You nearly and quite possibly have taken away the two most important people on this God given planet from me; splitting me up from my own flesh and blood.

You may be confused as to whom I speak of and to you I reply, my family. I will address you as 'My Lord' not 'Father' purely for the fact that you have never been the father that I require. Your own son, _your own son _and you tried to marry me to someone whom I do not love for some land. You made me bow at your feet, support you in the most horrific of situations, but I did it; for you.

The marriage to the Lady Vivian was the final straw, My Lord. To know that I could not be with the one that my heart desired that was the one thing that pushed me over the edge. Incantations? Spells? Magic? You may ask yourself, but no. I have escaped your grasp to be with the two people whom I love more than life itself. I love them more than you can ever imagine, more than you could provide for me, more than Camelot, more than anything that anyone could ever give.

She would say to leave her. She would tell me that Camelot is worth more than her, always putting the kingdom that she loved so much first before herself. She would have made an excellent queen, but it can never be. Your opinion on status kept my dream away from me; where I could be with my queen and heir together as a family and for that, I have to keep them safe. I have decided to remove them from your grasp permanently, to provide for them without all of the benefits that a prince has and I will do it, for them.

That is all I have to say to you My Lord.

Yours,

Arthur

P.s You were correct on one thing; I will be married today, just not to the woman you planned to wed me to.

Uther dropped the letter to the floor; as the hardness of the words still kept the falling pace at a slow, gradual speed. He collapsed into the chair once belonging to the prince and closed his wrinkled, worn eyes as the king cupped his head in his hands.

Though he would never admit such a thing, Uther loved Arthur more than anything since Ygraine, although it astonished him how someone of lower status could have such a hold on his son without the use of magic or him noticing the difference in his behaviour.

The king thought back to the note; the words rolling over in his mind over and over again. _Where I could be with my queen and heir together as a family and for that, I have to keep them safe. I have decided to remove them from your grasp permanently, to provide for them without all of the benefits that a prince has and I will do it, for them._

Uther recalled the sentences a few more times, trying to figure out what was making those specific words so intriguing to him. _Them. _Arthur had used that word more than once, so they weren't alone. The word 'family' and 'heir' also arose too.

_Surely Arthur would be stupid enough as to impregnate a commoner. That would result in bastards. They are getting married though, so their child would be eligible for the title. NO! I cannot and will not have common blood in the veins of royalty. This must stop. _

With that, Uther's eyes shot open, causing him to blink a couple of times due to the blinding, bright light that came in direct contact with his pupils.

"GUARDS!"

* * *

Arthur was panicking. No matter how much he paced back and forth, gripping his hands together tightly; his knuckles whitening almost instantly, the peasant could not rid the nervousness that ran through his veins.

_Breathe. _He told himself repeatedly. _Breathe. _

The cottage which he was sheltered in from the blazing summer sun was now littered in various candles, all with a small flicker of light adorning each wick. Giving off a glow around the room, the candles burned, only making Arthur stuffier that what he was already.

_What did I tell you? Breathe, you idiot, Breathe. _

He placed his hand in his trouser pocket, gently grazing his large, masculine fingers over the dainty ring that lay there; waiting to be placed on Guinevere's slim, silken ring bearing finger like it once had done.

_Breathe._

* * *

"Merlin," Gwen asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Where are we heading? I cannot take much more of this walking. Stupid swollen ankles." The last bit she mumbled underneath her breath as her best friend turned around to face her.

"I told you Gwen, we are heading out for the day. I have it all planned, we are stopping in the matter of minutes, there you can rest."

"Fine," she huffed as her hormones started to act unlike the usual cheerful character that she was.

Just like Merlin had said, the pair arrived at a small cottage just outside the forest that lead to Camelot; moss growing up the damp brick that blocked the inside from the outside world. A cloud of smoke rose from the chimney, alerting Gwen that someone was home.

She stared at Merlin, wondering why he would bring her to such a place before asking him a question that she so desperately wanted to know the answer to. "Why are we here, when it is obvious that somebody lives here?"

"Ah, my friend," Merlin tapped his chin wisely "That is something that you are going to have to find out for yourself."

Upon finishing his sentence, the young warlock led the maid to the wearing door and knocked, before opening it slightly and carefully pushing Gwen forwards.

Almost immediately, Gwen notice who the occupant of the house was.

"Arthur."

**Righteo... this is for larasmith in reply to your review: **

**I'm planning quite a lot of chapters (only if people want me to continue) and I know already how all of the characters will make their exits. Some of them are as reviewers have guessed, others not so close. You are pretty close, i'll give you that ;) Although Uther will not die, at least not before a lot more chapters. Hope you like the story a little :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey so... I know that it has been something like 9 days since I updated but I started a new school on Friday and I hate it. Plus the geography teacher has given me 18 pages of work to do in 2 days! Isn't he nice :/ Then I had to go out and buy new uniform which was a nightmare,l see my Australian cousins as they only left a few days ago and write my other story for my English assessment. Then I had 2 poems to write and an entry for "Around the world in 80 words." **

**Crap excuse but it is true. This chapter you may hate but I went blank and a little off schedule. Thanks for the reviews people and adios :) **

As soon as Arthur heard his name, he instantly realised who was in his presence. Slowly, he raised his head and stared into those eyes he had waited so long so see.

"Guinevere," he breathed her name, a whisper from his full lips.

He wiped the sweat that radiated from his hands onto his cotton trousers, knowing what he was about to do as he cautiously approached a stunned Gwen, gently taking her hands in his own. She lifted her eyes to his after he placed a single finger on the tip of her chin; immediately sending a chill through both their bodies.

He softly wrapped Guinevere up in his warmth, burying her head in the crook of his neck, whilst he placed one hand on the small of her back and the other on top of her head; stroking her ebony curls soothingly.

"God, I have missed you." His breath sent shivers down her spine as it hit her earlobe; the pores soaking up his melodic voice. "You have no idea how much I love you, both of you. How much I wish that I didn't have to put you through all the heartache that I have caused."

"Arthur, shush…" at the sound of her voice, he immediately quietened down, anticipating what she was going to say next. "Shouldn't you be in Camelot? Your wedding to the L…La…Lady Vivian is in a matter of hours and you are nowhere near the castle."

"Correction Guinevere, my wedding to you is in a matter of hours, that is of course if you wold do me the honour."

Gwen took her head from the crook that it hid in, unsure whether to be irritated or thrilled that Arthur had not given up on her. Her maroon eyes widened, eyelashes touching her eyelids.

She chuckled quietly before removing herself from his grasp and taking a few paces backwards.

"This cannot be happening. You need to be in Camelot, where you will marry the Lady Vivian and forget all about me. "Gwen's eyes started to well up, now a dark murky colour. "You have to forget that anything happened between us. Camelot needs you as their future king, who will keep up the line of royal bloods; I could never give you that."

"No, Guinevere, you could not," Arthur took a step closer to her, still distancing himself a little; trying not to scare her off. At his words, Gwen's heart sunk a little. _Did he not realise that they already had a child on the way. "_But… I do not care about such things. I care about you, our child and our life together as a family. My relationship with my father is no more; I have left Camelot for good and am according to Merlin, the newest resident of Ealdor. "

Gwen's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, trying to utter the words that her lips were not able to say.

"A…Ar…Are you mad? You have defied the king, Arthur. This is not a man who will let things go. His only son and heir the throne has just left Camelot; do you really believe that he would just let you get away with it? He will kill me and our child if he finds us, Arthur! Do you not understand that?"

Arthur was taken aback with Gwen's reaction to yet a second proposal. He knew that Uther would try to seek them out, yet he also realised that he had the knights on his side; something that Gwen was unaware of.

"Guinevere, please! If you would let me explain, then I would be most grateful."

She sighed before taking a place on a small wooden bench beside the front door. Her left hand found her right as she fumbled with her slim caramel fingers; waiting for what Arthur had to say.

"It is not just Merlin who has attempted to help us, your brother; Gwain, Gaius, Percival and Leon are all part of it too. They have organised the ceremony, which I have also assisted with plus got us accommodation with enough room for our Pendragon as well. There is no way Uther would be able to find us if the knights are leading our search party. There is nothing that you may say to change my mind, Guinevere. I am leaving Camelot until it is our time to take our rightful place as king and queen whether you join me or not, but be aware; I will never give up on you. I love you and our child; I am doing this for both of you. I want you to be safe from the judgemental people that I know you would ignore, although it would still bother you that you are an unwed mother. I want to make you my wife so I can hold your hand in public, kiss you when the stars brighten the night sky and venture around villages whilst our child lays cradled in its mother and father's arms. If I did not love you as much as I say, then why would I do such things? Why would I take away your virtue and put you in this predicament? I'll tell you why… because even when times got tough, we always made it through together; we made our relationship work even though we were under the closest of eyes. Are you telling me, Guinevere, that that does not sound like a man in love? Does that not sound like someone who would do anything for you? Can you tell me that when we are together in this small room, you do not feel what I feel for you; that you can just leave without so much of a thought to our relationship? I am telling you, my Love; I will keep asking you for your hand. Why would I give up something so precious; so sacred for a woman whom I do not like in the slightest? She is rude and arrogant, not to mention the massive lack of good looks. "

Gwen managed a slight laugh at his last statement, whilst droplets of water fell from the barricades of her eyes. She sniffled as Arthur came besides her; enclosing her in his muscular arms while she cried into his build up shoulder.

"I will not give up on you, Guinevere." He whispered, before standing and exiting the cottage; hoping that his plan was going to work.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry people that this has taken so long but I was and still am at a dead end here; my mind has gone completely blank. This chapter is not good at all but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging and it is probably the best you are going to get at this point in time. Just to clarify, the wedding is the next chapter and I know that I keep saying it but sorry for the long wait with it. So I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has read this story. Over 9000 views it has got and I am so grateful to you all even if you decide not to continue reading 'Unexpecting.' **

**If you want to review, review. If you don't then don't. :D **

As Arthur exited the building, he let out a sign whilst his hands collided together making a Snap in the air; alarming a roaming Merlin. His head shot up, as he stared at his master in shock.

"You're up, Merlin," Arthur said before striding over to his servant; patting him on the back. "I'm off to get ready. I will see you with Guinevere in an hours' time and you better be there. "With that, the prince disappeared into the woodland surrounding the cottage; leaving Merlin to sort out the rest of Arthurs' plan.

He entered the house quietly; only to hear the creak of the hinges and the soft whimpers that came from a crying Gwen. Merlin found her still on the same bench she had sat on only minutes before hand; curled up on the wooden structure; back pressed into the stone wall. He lowered himself besides her; stretching his arm sideward to bring Gwen's body closer to his own. Before raising her head, Guinevere immediately realised who was there; the fresh scent of herbal remedies lingering on his lean body.

"I love him, Merlin," She murmured; barely above a whisper. "I love him so much that it hurts whenever he is far away. That whenever he comes back from quests or his duties, I fret to think what could happen to him. Do you know how that feels, Merlin? Do you know how it feels to love someone so much that you would give your life just for them to be safe?" Gwen sniffled; wiping the fallen tears with an embroidered violet sleeve. "Do you?" She raised her head; her angelic face reddened from the salty liquid, and stared at Merlin; awaiting his answer.

"As a matter of fact Gwen, I do."

Gwen was stunned at Merlin's revelation, part of her wanting to know who it was that had stolen her best friends heart; the other wanting to hear why she had never been told of this mystery woman; why she had never seen anyone who even remotely looked like his love.

"Her name… Her name," Merlin stuttered; unsure of whether he would be able to carry on. "Her name was Freya. Sh…sh…she was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was as smooth as the finest silk in all of Camelot; whilst those eyes," Merlin sighed as he stared off into space. "Well those eyes of the darkest mahogany could not be compared to anything on this Earth."

A single tear gracefully slid down his snow white cheeks as he reminisced on the time spent with the love of his life. Sensing that Merlin did not want to continue their conversation, Gwen placed a hand on his scrawny arm, silencing her friend.

"It is okay, Merlin," She said; their eyes meeting. "It's okay."

All of a sudden, Merlin rose from his position; leaving Gwen wondering what on Earth he was doing. The warlock began to pace back and forth, back and forth constantly; his eyes never leaving the cottage floor.

"Um… Merlin?" Gwen asked, wary of what her friend was up to.

His head raised his eyes; tearful and full of sadness as Gwen knew instantly that they had hit a sore subject.

"Are you…" But Gwen was cut off with the sound of Merlin's voice.

"Marry him, Gwen. Marry him and never let him go. I lost my chance years ago; I lost the love of my life to a curse that influenced her so much that she passed away. Cherish every moment that you have with Arthur and your child because once it is gone; you'll never get in back. He needs you just like you need him and your little one; well… it needs both its parents in its life. "

Gwen stared at her hands; her fingers fidgeting with another as she came to her conclusion.

"I will marry him, Merlin; although we cannot be put in danger. Our child cannot suffer at the hands of its grandfather. If that is prevented then I will marry Arthur."

Merlin stopped pacing and started at Guinevere.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Merlin said, picking Gwen up and spinning her around.

"Merlin… sickness," Gwen reminded him as he put her down.

"Sorry." He said; as he mentally told himself off for forgetting her current condition.

"What was that for?" She asked, wondering why Merlin seemed so happy that she was marrying Arthur.

"Because not once, did Arthur give up on you and I know for certain, you will make him the happiest man alive. He never gave up on your relationship and both of you are defying the king for love. I should have done it years ago; run away with Freya. I should have tried to get her out of the predicament that she was in, but I didn't; and she paid the ultimate price. For once in his life, Arthur is taking responsibility for his actions; it is making him gain the confidence and courage to become king of Camelot, and that my friend, is the thing that will make him the greatest king in all of the five kingdoms."

"Thank you, Merlin for doing this; it means a lot to Arthur and I."

"Do not worry Gwen; I would do anything for you and Arthur. Speaking of which, we need to get you ready for your wedding, as in now. The ceremony begins in forty-five minutes and we still need to get ready."

Gwen's eyes widened.

"A…A…As in forty-five minutes from now?" she asked; now beginning to panic.

"Yes Gwen, forty five minutes from now," he clarified, striding over to a wardrobe that Gwen had not yet noticed, opening the squeaking doors before pulling out the crème box that he had carried through the woods only a couple hours before hand.

Pulling the lace that held the lid in place, Merlin opened the box to find a stunning satin spaghetti strapped gown; with a sweetheart design that he knew would complement Gwen's skin perfectly.

The breasts sparkled as the crystals shone in that candlelight that lit the small room. Gently grasping the straps, Merlin removed it from the packaging; giving Gwen the first glimpse of her wedding dress.

She inhaled sharply, trying to get out of the daydream that she was in.

"It…it's beautiful, Merlin," Gwen gasped; trying to let everything that was happening soak up into her mind.

Merlin let out his usual slight chuckle.

"I'm not surprised that you like it; I designed it."

"You did what, Merlin?" She asked, now slightly puzzled.

"I designed it. I knew that Arthur was not going to see it before today because it had to be a surprise when he sees you walking down the aisle so I took the job up as my own. I am so glad that you like it Gwen. "

"Thank you, Merlin! This really is going to be the most perfect day."


	15. Chapter 15

**Umm... hi people. This is in Gwen's point of view seen as I tried it in 3rd person but I just couldn't do it; it would have taken me too much time to do it. I should, might, hopefully will be updating more often seen as it is the 6 week holidays in the UK. Yay no school for 6 weeks ( note the sarcasm seen as I love school.) This is the wedding chapter which I know quite a few people have been after for a little while. I just want to say in advance, I apologize that it will not be what you expected because you will probably hate it. The writing is not the best and before you read it the vows are not my own that I wrote because I am putting my own in later chapters probably (THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER WEDDING UNLESS MY PLANNING GETS SERIOUSLY MESSED UP!). If you actually want to carry on reading this then do so, if you don't then don't, I won't be hurt or anything by it because it would waste your time to read something that's not worth your time and if I am completely honest, even I don't like this story. The only reason I am carrying on is for the people on here who actually like it. For people who are going to carry on... I hope you like it a little :P By the way if people want to review then by all means do, even if it isn't very good. Your reviews help me try and improve my writing because I need all the help I can get and I won't be offended if you write something that isn't like " Oh my goodness, I love it" because I don't expect you to do so. Even guests on the website, please review if you want because It may not show up on the actual story but if you want me to put it so people can see it then I will. If you want to keep your reviews private then either write it as a guest and I wont publish it or send me a private message. I'm on here all the time anyway. **

As I took my place behind the oaks of the forest; I let out a heavy sigh as I leant back against one of the trees there. Today, I become Mrs Pendragon; the wife of the crown prince and the next queen of Camelot; not too much pressure. I still could not get over the fact that I, a simple maidservant, was marrying the crown prince of Camelot and the love of my life whilst having his child. My life was finally falling into place and even though I knew we would have to hide ourselves from Uther, I realised that in the end it would be worth it.

My dress showed off my ever-growing baby bump as the satin flowed over my chocolate skin whilst my outrageous curls cascaded along my back, parallel to the line of pearls that trailed down my spine. _Breathe, Guinevere, Breathe! _I told myself over and over again as Elyan appeared from behind one of the trees; dressed in the chainmail that was unique to Camelot's knights. His torso was covered in the usual Pendragon red cloth where a dragon adorned its centre as his customised sword clung to a belt that hung low on his hips.

"We are ready for you," My brother told me as I wrapped my arm around his. My final walk before I become Guinevere Pendragon. _Breathe, Gwen, Breathe! _ I reminded myself once again as we made our appearance from behind the forests cover. Then I saw him.

A trail of Violets and Lavenders led me to the man of my dreams whilst a canopy of white lilies draped over him and the priest who stood there clutching his bible. As soon as we locked eyes, it was like it was only us in the field that held the ceremony. The nerves I had only seconds before hand had suddenly vanished as I tried to rush toward the alter; now wanting to get this over with so I could be with Arthur for the rest of our lives. Moving down the walkway for only seconds felt like minutes, hours in fact; then I was there; Stood before Arthur whilst all of our closest friends watched my brother hand me over to my love. He gently kissed my cheek before shaking hands with Arthur and taking his place besides Merlin to watch the ceremony.

The Priest looked at Arthur as he nodded his head; signalling that everyone was present that needed to be… then it began.

He turned to me, grasping my hands gently before handing them over to Arthur and flicking through the bible his hands held.

"My Lord," the minister said to Arthur, "Please repeat after me; I Arthur Pendragon"

"I Arthur Pendragon," Arthur replied as his icy eyes stared into mine, never breaking contact.

"Take Guinevere Leodegrance."

"Take Guinevere Leodegrance."

"To be my wife, my friend, my lover and the mother of our children."

"To be my wife, my friend, my lover and the mother of our children."

_Arthur has definitely chosen these vows. _I thought and I laughed at the last part of the verse; oh the irony. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I thought of just how much care and effort Arthur had put into the day.

"To look at you is to see my vision of love."

"To look at you is to see my vision of love."

"To listen to your laughter is to hear the sound of love."

"To listen to your laughter is to hear the sound of love."

"To hold you in my arms is to feel the infinite joy of God's greatest creation."

"To hold you in my arms is to feel the infinite joy of God's greatest creation."

"On this day, I publicly affirm the joyous relationship we now share."

"On this day, I publicly affirm the joyous relationship we now share."

"And I promise to love, to honour, to respect, and to cherish you throughout all of our days."

"And I promise to love, to honour, to respect, and to cherish you throughout all of our days."

As Arthur finished his vows, I saw the tears prickling from his frosty eyes, as he tried to hold them back from view of our friends.

A few moments passed before the minster once again began speaking.

"Do you, Arthur Pendragon take Guinevere Leodegrance, whom you hold by the hand, to be your wife, the companion of your life, the partner of your sorrows?"

"I do," Arthur replied without hesitation.

The priest then turned to me as I panicked. _What if I said something wrong? What if I stuttered? What if I didn't say anything at all? _

_Breathe, Guinevere, Breathe! _

"Guinevere?" the priest asked.

"Gwen!" Both Arthur and I said as we gave out a minor chuckle.

"Gwen," he nodded slightly as he corrected his mistake. "Please repeat after me. I Guinevere Leodegrance."

"I Guinevere Leodegrance."

"Take you, Arthur Pendragon,"

"Take you Arthur Pendragon,"

"To be my husband, my friend, my love, the father of our children"

"To be my husband, my friend, my love, the father of our children"

"I join with you today, to pledge before our family and friends,"

"I join with you today, to pledge before our family and friends,"

"Our commitment to make the utmost of our life together."

"Our commitment to make the utmost of our life together."

"As husband & wife, I promise to work with you to build our love & friendship, to speak openly & honestly, to welcome your cares & worries and maintain the love & respect that have grown between us."

"As husband & wife, I promise to work with you to build our love & friendship, to speak openly & honestly, to welcome your cares & worries and maintain the love & respect that have grown between us."

"I offer acceptance & flexibility, loyalty & trust, may we love & support each other through the trials & triumphs of our life together."

"I offer acceptance & flexibility, loyalty & trust, may we love & support each other through the trials & triumphs of our life together."

I chocked back the tears that were fast approaching my tear ducts and waited for the priest to carry on with the ceremony.

"Do you, Guinevere Leodegrance take, Arthur Pendragon whom you hold by the hand, to be your husband, the companion of your life, the partner of your sorrows?"

"I do," I responded, without thinking about the answer. What was there to think about?

"Then by the laws vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife; Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon."

And within that moment, everything seemed to fall into place. Arthur lent in without any warning; pressing his luscious, soft, full lips against my own as a cheer erupted from the onlookers in front of us. The kiss was short, only lasting seconds, although it portrayed just how much we felt for each other; how much need, longing, and love we had for the other.

Gasping for breath, we parted; staring at each other for a minute period of time before getting showered in rose petals. Arthur wrapped me up in his muscular arms, as I buried my head into his chest. He lowered his lips to my ear and just as they was about to touch, skin on skin, he whispered something. "It's just you and me now, my love. Just me, you and our Pendragon."

A smile formed on my lips as we thanked the priest for his services and silence then headed back down the alter towards Arthur's grand stallion that waited for us at the opposite end. Arthur helped me to climb upon the horse before jumping on himself. My hands snaked round his waist, pressing his body as close as possible to my own in this position.

"Are you ready to the start the rest of our lives together, Guinevere?" Arthur asked me as he tapped the horse gently, setting him off into a steady gallop.

"I have been ready since the day I first spoke up to you in Ealdor." I whispered into his ear as we headed for our destination, unsure of what was going to happen in the future. All I knew, was that neither Uther nor any other person could break us apart in the eyes of the law; for we were joined by God's hands, God's strength and God's power.

**I didn't put the exchange of the rings in because I have plans for when I am going to put it in. You may think this is not normal, well... their relationship is not normal so they can be unique in their actions. By the way, for people who want quicker updates, I try to update before "Unexpecting" goes off the first page of the "Arthur and Gwen, update date" page without any other boxes filled in. So if you wanna know when I am updating, keep your eyes our for it getting closer to the bottom. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, I hope this is fast enough for some of you as an upload :) Seen as I have nothing better to do with my time I thought i would get this chapter out of the way. I WAS NOT GOING TO GO INTO DETAIL WITH THIS BECAUSE I AM ONLY 15 AND MY MIND IS NOT AS DISTURBING AS SOME OTHER PEOPLE MY AGE! It is short as a result of that so that is another reason why I uploaded today. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read "Unexpecting." I now have over 10,600 views which I am pretty impressed with to say I don't like it. Yay :D You might hate this chapter but there is no way I am going to write it again in further detail, sorry. R&R if you want to :)**

Gwen giggled as both she and Arthur fell onto the sturdy wooden bed that occupied their new house in Ealdor.

"I love you," Arthur whispered as he kissed her gently on her sweet lips; savouring every second of having her so close.

She chuckled, as both of her arms wrapped around his neck, pressing him closer to her than he already was.

"I hope that you do love me," she replied breathlessly after escaping his lips' grasp.

"That was not what I was expecting, Guinevere," Arthur responded; stroking her cascading curls soothingly.

"Yeah and what was you expecting?" She questioned, already knowing what he was planning.

"This," With that, Arthur held her at her hips, trailing his masculine fingers along the seams of her dress as he once again lowered his lips to hers. His touch sent shivers down her spine, electricity of the highest voltage racing through both of their bodies, as his hands travelled downwards, skimming her smooth, silken thighs that were now exposed thanks to her wedding dress riding upwards. Arthur dragged his nails along her legs, bringing them closer to her core before suddenly trailing them back down; earning a long sigh from a hypnotised Gwen.

She removed her arms from his neck, lowering her hands toward his tunic that had already started to rise due to their actions before hiding them beneath the fabric of his shirt. She toyed with the hair there, her fingers gently skimming over the bare skin that lay underneath the material. Her hands raised his shirt, pulling it over his fair head before throwing it out the way of their activities. Next, she began on the ties of his trousers, loosening them in record time before tearing them away from his form, finally unveiling him to her after such a long time apart.

"You…are…so…handsome, my husband" she breathed, as Arthur feathered light kissed along her neck; his hands now trying to undo the pearls that prevented him seeing all of his wife, his gorgeous Guinevere.

"You…are…so…beautiful, my wife" he replied, finally revealing her to him in just her undergarments; Gwen's baby bump standing proud beneath its father. "Although I can't help but think that you are a little too overdressed."

She laughed at his comment as all too soon he rid her of the offending material that kept her most pleasurable features out of sight.

"Much better," He stated whilst he lowered his lips to hers and took his wife to the stars and back, pleasuring her in every way possible.


	17. Chapter 17

**Bonjour people. This chapter is longer than my usual one although not very good because it is rushed. If i'm honest, I'm - that close to not finishing it as I want to continue writing my story that I started writing for my English work. I am not comfortable writing in third person at all and I have realized that I took on a really big challenge as what not a lot of people knew was that this was and if I carry on a very long story that could probably be 50 chapters easily. Oh well... anyway like usual R&R if you want to, no one is going to come out and have a go at you if you don't so.. yeah :D **

A bright beam of light shone through the thin cotton material that blocked the Pendragon's life from the outside world. Gwen head lay nestled into the crook of Arthurs' neck as she slept peacefully in her husbands' arms, while Arthur lazily drew patterns on the small of her back, content with lying in their marital bed for the rest of the summer's day. Guinevere sighed dreamily, her eyes gently flickering open. She squinted; her eyes adjusting to the sunlight that blinded her momentarily, before she stared up at her husband as he lowered his lips to meet hers in a chaste kiss.

"Good morning, my husband," Gwen whispered while Arthur stroked her bump soothingly.

"Good morning, my wife, my love, my life and good morning to you my little Pendragon." Arthur lifted the covers off their naked forms, before bending down to place an array of kisses on her expanding torso.

"Arthur, we cannot lay here all day, whilst you speak to our child that is not even born yet," she laughed at her husbands' antics.

The prince looked up at his wife before staring back down at her swollen stomach. "Mummy is being very silly, isn't she my child. I hope you know how much I speak of you my little Pendragon; how much I love you; how much I will carry on loving you until I breathe my last breath."

"Come on, my love; we must rise otherwise I fear that will never leave our bed."

"Then we shall never rise! We shall stay here for the rest of our glorious lives."

"Arthur," Gwen whined.

"Yes, my wife."

"Move; our child and I are hungry."

"Very well, Guinevere. But know that we will return very shortly."

She chuckled lightly as her body rose from the bed, before hiding behind their dressing partition; slipping on a violet number.

Whilst Gwen attempted to comb her outrageous curls , Arthur slipped out of the covers, got dressed and left their house; leaving Guinevere alone without knowing where her husband had disappeared to.

* * *

The summers' heat immediately hit Arthur like a tonne of bricks as he carefully closed the door behind him; making sure that Gwen did not hear him leave. He strode over to a cottage a couple of buildings away from his own house and knocked on the door; waiting for the occupant to open up.

He heard shuffling inside the house from the thin walls, then the lock flick up before a bed headed Merlin came into view.

"No," Merlin said groggily before he shut the door in Arthurs' face.

"Merlin, you will open this door right now," Arthur bellowed; wary of Guinevere hearing him.

Just then the door opened once more, Merlins' face showing anything other than amusement.

"What do you want, Arthur? Shouldn't you be with your wife, not bothering me at this time in a morning?" He asked, ready for collapsing back onto his bed.

"Actually, it was Guinevere that I wanted to talk to you about. You see, in our ceremony yesterday, we never exchanged our rings due to us being wary of Uther. So… I want it done today and you are going to help me."

"Excuse me Arthur, but did you forget that I am no longer your servant? God help you when you have your child that you are meant to look after every day of the week. How are you going to manage that when you can't even look after yourself?"

"I can dress myself," Arthur said, proud of his words.

"Arthur, people who have only seven years can dress by themselves, maybe even children that are younger. You really do have a lot to learn before your child is born."

"Merlin," Arthur tapped his foot impatiently, wanting to get on with all of the days' tasks "Can you please help me to get Guinevere to the tavern by eleven on this fine morning and stop rambling or not?"

"Fine…" Merlin dragged his words out, leaving Arthur smiling brightly at his best friend.

"Good well… thank you I guess."

"You are most welcome, Arthur. What may I ask are you going to do now?"

"I, my friend am going to write a speech that will make my wife even more in love with me," Arthur grinned; turning his back on Merlin as he made his way to the tavern.

"I don't think anyone could be more in love with a man even if they tried." Merlin shouted across the square, before he stepped out of his house, locked the door and headed towards his best friends' cottage.

Merlin tapped on the door to the Pendragons' house loudly, startling a poor, old, frail woman who happened to be walking past him at the wrong time.

"My sincerest apologies, I did not mean to startle you," The sorcerer politely said to her as she shook her head.

"Do not worry, my boy; it is just my age getting the best of me." She replied as she carried on with her journey home.

Just as the lady disappeared into her own bungalow, Gwen opened her door and stared at Merlin.

"Good morning, Mrs Pendragon!" Merlin greeted her as she placed her hand on her widening hips.

"Don't Mrs Pendragon me! Where on Earth is Arthur?" she asked.

_Must be the hormones acting up again_! Merlin thought before he was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts.

"Merlin, I asked you a question!"

"Wh…Wh…What? Sorry, I didn't hear you. I spaced out all of a sudden." He apologised as she patted her fingers on her hips.

"I said, 'Do you know where Arthur is?', he left quite abruptly this morning and I have not seen him since."

"As a matter of fact Gwen, I have seen him and he told me, to take you out for a little while which means… WE ARE HAVING A PICNIC!"

"A picnic? At nine o'clock in the morning?"

"It's a better time as any; the sun is shining, you have just gotten married, and seen as we never got to celebrate seen as you and Arthur were a little umm.. busy, we could celebrate now."

She giggled like a small child before grabbing Merlin's hand and dragging him inside.

"Ham or cheese?"

* * *

Arthur hit his chin gently with his quill, as he thought how he could say so much about his relationship with his wife in such a short period of time. Though he was never the best with words, Arthur also knew that they had to be original; they had to be the words that were chosen perfectly for his love to show how much she meant to him and yet… he came up with nothing.

As the time hit 11 o'clock, Arthur had still not written a single word. Paper was strewn all over the table where he sat, filled with words that meant nothing to him; words that showed no emotion; no feeling. He sighed, banging his head on the table in front of him. What on Earth was he going to do?

* * *

Merlin and Gwen were silently strolling back from their picnic when all of sudden, Merlin started a conversation.

"How does it feel to finally be married to Arthur?" He asked intrigued by what she had to say.

"I… I can't really describe it. It feels like you are impossibly close to you loved one even when they are far away. When they are hurt, you feel their hurt and when they are happy, you feel that also. Arthur and I have waited so long to get married that even before we wed; it felt like we were already together; I am pregnant after all."

She threw her head back and laughed.

"Why would you like to know anyway?"

Merlin blushed at Gwens' question.

"Well… seen as Arthur has you now and does not need me as his servant, I was thinking about settling down. I mean, now is a better time as any."

"Merlin, are you so blind to know that Arthur will always need you? Yes I may be his wife, but he will still annoy you and get drunk once in a while; it is in his nature. Just because he is married, it doesn't mean that he will change. Besides that, I think that what you are doing about settling down is wonderful; you deserve all the happiness in the world after what you have done for Arthur and I."

"Thank you Gwen but if you don't mind me, I think I need a couple of drinks and you my fair lady are coming to accompany me."

"What, wait, no! Merlin, I can't go in there with drunken men who cannot even see their own hand they are that out of their minds."

"Gwen, please trust me. Nothing is going to happen." He reassured her, before grasping her palm in his and dragging her into the bar. "

Upon entering, the pair noticed that everyone was crowded around the stage whilst a fair haired man stood up on it. Immediately, they realised who it was.

Both of them walked over to the crowd, Gwen least than impressed.

"Arthur?" she asked. "Arthur?"

He turned around straight away, almost falling over in the process.

"Yes my love?" he replied, giving her his usual charming toothy smile.

"What on Earth are you doing up there? You left this morning without so much as goodbye and now I find you in the tavern looking like a fool." She scolded him as his smile slowly turned the other way.

"I my wife, have something to say." Arthur coughed loudly attracting most of the attention in the bar before clapping his hands together, grabbing the rest.

"Good afternoon, my name is uh..uhh… Todd Pickering and only yesterday, my wife and I married and moved into this beautiful, friendly village to live our lives here as a fresh start . Now," Arthur took a deep intake of breathe as he stared at Gwen. "If my wife would not mind stepping on stage, I have something to say and do."

Her eyes flicked from Arthurs' to her best friends as he gave her a wink before pushing her gently on the small of her back, making her move up the steps towards her husband.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" She whispered in his ear.

"I my love," He said aloud so every one of the spectators could hear, "Am going to do something I should have done a hell of a long time ago."

Her eyes showed her wariness at her husbands' actions. _What did I let myself in for? _She thought shaking her head.

"As you already know," Arthur said as he began with his speech. "My wife and I married not even twenty four hours ago but we missed something out. Though our vows were said and we were joined by the gracious hands of the lord, we never tied our love together with marriage bands. For that reason, I have come before you today although, I would like to say a few words prior. So.. here goes.

I was going to write all of the things I love about you Guinevere, your eyes, and your smile; the way you welcome anyone into your hospitality even if they are arrogant, pig headed people who do not deserve it, but that didn't seem like enough. I thought to tell you how much I wish we stay together forever and never leave each other's side, but I know that that will happen anyway. Even when we are far away from each other, I feel your presence with me, I feel warm inside; filled to the brim with the love and care I have for you." Arthur started to tear up as well as Gwen; their cheeks flushed with blood. "Every time that I get stuck in a mess, you are always there for me. Every time I get injured, you take care of my wounds and even when I am so full of myself that it hurts, you stand by me and for that I thank you. I also thank you for giving me the three most precious things a person you give; you, your love and our child. That is something that I can never repay you for, all of the money in this world could not compare to how much you have given me. " Gwen now had tears streaming down her face, as she placed a hand on her bump, the other in Arthurs hand. " Now, if my best friend Merlin wouldn't mind, I would like to invite him onto the stage."

Straight away, he hopped onto the wooden platform, standing in front of Arthur so Gwen could not see what was happening. Arthur turned around only seconds afterward s to his wife, taking her other small frail hand into his own.

"Guinevere, You are my life, my heart, my soul,

The dreams, the answers to my goal,

The sun that shines, bright in the morning,

The life we share, our new one's dawning,

I take your hand and give you this ring," With that he placed a captivating platinum diamond band on her wedding ring finger. Gwen immediately gasped at the intricate designed; she knew this must have cost a lot of gold.

"To show the love I have to bring,

To be with you for now and forever,

Until we go, right up to Heaven."

With that, Guinevere grasped hold of her husbands' collar, Crashing his lips against her own.

"God, I love you," she breathed heavily.

"I love you too, Guinevere." He said, as suddenly, the crowd burst into a song of cheering, laughing and clapping.

Merlin came up besides the couple, handing an expensive, simple silver band over to Gwen that she slid onto Arthur marital finger; finally joining them together, ring to ring.

**So... the little poem thing if you can call it that at the end, I wrote that when I was 9 so it wasn't meant to be good due to it being "made up on the spot" for arthur. Just to make it clear that my poetry is much better than that. Well.. I like to think it is see as I have a few published :/ **


	18. Chapter 18

**So hello people. This is very short but I haven't wrote about Uther for some while, so whilst my brain was blocked about Arthur and Gwen I though I might as well get it out of the way. It is very brief but I wanted to put something up because if not then people will think I have put it on hold or stopped writing it. At the moment i'm hand writing this whole story out which will take me a little while probably about 3 days to do seen as I'm not staying inside whilst it is red hot in England so thats why I might not update as much. Yes, I may sound mad but that's me for you and I handwrite all my poetry, stories and the occational lyrics out by hand. Anyway, totally off track there... **

Uther was furious! Scratch that, furious would be an understatement of what the king was at the moment. Anger leaked out of every pore of his skin as he paced through the great hall, awaiting the news of his son and his mistress.

_I am going to find this woman. I am going to find both of them and when I do, I am going to bring both of them back to Camelot where she shall hang for…for. _ No matter how much Uther thought about it, he knew that his sons' lover could not be executed under Camelots' laws; after all, she was from what Uther understood carrying Arthurs' bastard child.

Suddenly, the intimidating oak doors that sealed the hall creaked open, revealing several knights, including Leon, Gwaine and Percival. They bowed respectfully before taking their stances in front of their king.

"Is there any news on the whereabouts of Prince Arthur and his lover?" Uther asked, pointing the question towards Sir Leon.

"I apologise my lord, but the prince taught us everything that he knew. He outsmarted us by using the techniques he taught us to hide our tracks. It is virtually impossible to find him whilst he is abiding by the methods that we follow, after all, our knights are the strongest, most advanced men in the army."

Leon saw the expression on his kings face; showing that he was least than impressed with any one of the knights in front of him.

"You shall find him, Sir Leon. You shall find him if it means searching ever corner of every kingdom on this Earth." Uthers' hand inched closer to Leons' face, almost touching before he retracted it whilst he turned around, heading towards his golden throne.

"Yes my lord, but-"

"But what, sir Leon? My son, your prince and future king, has run away with some scum off the streets; do you expect me to sit back and do nothing?"

At Uthers comment, all three knights felt their anger rise; ready to launch forwards and threaten anyone who dare insult the princess and future queen of Camelot.

"No Sire, although I don't believe that running after them will help. He knows that you will attempt to return them home so he will move. We could be on their trail all along, but they will always be a few steps ahead of us. By now, they could be married; they could be perfectly happy alone; they just need time. For all anyone knows, Sire, their relationship could fizzle out and be nothing more than lust taking over them. At the moment though my lord, I believe that they are truly in love. We have seen the prince under love spells before, where lust is all that is in his eyes. Although, however long they have been courting, we have never seen that; never seen anything other than clear dedication and devotion to Camelot. He has fulfilled his duties as the next king of this kingdom whilst seeing whomever it may be that has captured his heart."

"Sir Leon, I appreciate your opinion over this matter, but I cannot have the royal bloodline being poisoned by a commoner. We are specially chosen by God, to protect and look after his planet; not to turn peasants into princesses! My son is playing in the hands of God here; he is betraying the most superior being in this entire universe. Do you not think that I would love nothing more than to see my son married with heirs? I hoped that it would happen, just not when it is putting him in danger of going against the almighty God. We will find him, even if I take my last breath whilst doing so. "

All of the knight stared at each other, knowing that the king would not let this go, no matter how hard they tried to persuade him to think differently. Uthers large form fell onto the sturdy gold chair as his hands held his head whilst his eyelids drooped closed.

"You may return to your duties," he declared before all of the men escaped the watchful eyes of their sovereign.

**Before I forget, there was a review about me putting myself down and yes I do put myself down and the reason that I do it is because my old English teacher told me that I don't write for my audience and I got a C which to be honest isn't good enough for me. Because of what she said, I stopped writing for 3 months and it was only one of my friends that told me to start again when he found some of my other stories that he loved. Plus my spelling, grammar etc. is horrific and don't get me started on my vocabulary. However miserable I sound, I assure you all that I am not like that at all on the contrary i'm quite to opposite, some things just annoy me a bit. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay , so I apologize in advance for this chapter seen as it is very short and really rushed but it was only meant to be a filler. I just wanted to put something up so I can get on with the next chapter which will be much easier to write hopefully :) Just saying but Gwen will not give birth any time soon so I just want to clarify that; there is more story to go first... a lot more I hope. **

After a couple of months of living in Ealdor, Gwen and Arthur had settled down seemingly well in their new home .She was now far bigger than she was before they had left Camelot, nearly making use out of every dress that Merlin had ordered to be made for her. Arthur had found a job working as a blacksmith as he was well educated in the way of knifes and swords. Of course, Gwen had helped him a little more than once after all, she was a blacksmiths daughter, although Arthur insisted that she stayed at home and rested, instead of putting strain on her and their baby. If Gwen had to be honest, she was already bored of sitting down all day; sewing intricate details on the corsets of dresses. It used to be fun for her, discovering all of the patterns that could be created with a simple thread and needle; now it was nothing but a drag. Though they could live comfortably on the money that Arthur had brought with him for the next few years, they did not want to arise suspicion among the local people; after all, they were meant to be peasants.

Though the couple had to work hard to make sure they lay undiscovered from Uther, they never regretted their decision. The pair was still ecstatically in love and it looked unlikely that it was going to change any time soon. On the contrary, they were even more in love than ever before. Arthur and Gwen cherished every day that they was able to spend in each other's company, wishing that it would never end. Arthur had begun to make baby toys for his son or daughter a while back now, and their small subtle home was filled with a variety of wooden items; small enough so their child could play with them although big enough that they were not in danger of chocking. Guinevere on the other hand, has sewn a variety of clothes for their child; neither pink nor dark blue due to them being unsure of what sex their baby way.

All they had to do now, was wait.


	20. Chapter 20

**So for people who are on this chapter... yes, it is a triple upload and it has taken me most of the day to complete. This chapter may be a little confusing but I hope that it does make sense. Enjoy... hopefully :)**

Even after the many months of continuously searching for Arthur and his lover, Uther never gave up trying to find them. Other matters, other more serious troubles were pushed into the back of the kings' mind as he tried to find his fully grown son who did not want to be found. King Olaf had been threatening war for some time now due to the need for more land in his kingdom, although Uther had not replied to any of the warning parchments sent. This of course infuriated the king even more, when the marriage between Lady Vivian and Prince Arthur was called off, leading him to the decision of war.

Uther stood on top of the keep, along with Leon, Elyan and a couple other knights as he stared into the distance at the great army which occupied the horizon.

"We have four days, My Lord," Sir Leon spoke up, knocking the king out of his trance. "Four days and King Olaf's army will attack Camelot. Around forty thousand men he has brought along, sire; much more than we could conjure up. Our defences need to be enforced; we need everyone to assist us in protecting the kingdom."

Uther tapped his foot on the wearing stone ground.

"WHY! WHY DID MY SON SUDDENLY HAVE TO LEAVE?" Uther unexpectedly broke out. "ALL FOR SOME WHORE; SOME WORTHLESS SLUT! IF HE HADN'T LEFT, I WOULD NOT HAVE EXHAUSTED OUR ARMY TRYING TO SEARCH FOR HIM. "

All of the knights stood there outraged; attempting to keep calm as their king foul mouthed their princess. Uther had known for the last four months who it was that had kidnapped his sons' heart and in his mind, kidnapped Arthur, although he made no movements to rid Elyan from the service.

The king knew that in his mind, Elyan was one of the best knights in Camelot; even without being of noble blood; though he would never admit it to anyone other than his more trusted advisor, Gaius.

Gaius of course told Elyan that he was in no danger of having his status removed even though it was his sister who Arthur had eloped with. It was undeniable that Uther felt some hatred towards the knight; and had made it known that if any knight knew of their whereabouts then they should inform him immediately instead of keeping the information enclosed; for it could have them imprisoned for the rest of their days.

Elyan spoke up. "My lord, rage will not help this situation. Yes, without the princes' training we are less advanced but some of us knights are the best in all of the five kingdoms. The prince left because he was unable to be with Guinevere, and the marriage probably topped him over the edge."

"WE SHALL NOT SPEAK OF HER NAME SIR ELYAN, WHICH GOES FOR ALL OF YOU" Uther shot back. "SHE MAY BE YOUR SISTER BUT THEIR ABSENCE HAS CAUSED THIS WAR AND FOR THAT SHE SHALL REMAIN UNNAMED. Prepare the army, all the women and children shall be housed in the castle where the most advance knights shall protect."

"Yes, My lord," Elyan replied nodding his head slightly before all of the knights turned around to exit the keep; leaving Uther alone to his thoughts.

I have heard of this woman, this Guinevere; the Lady Morganas' maid I believe. Guinevere Leodegrance … Guinevere Pendragon, I should say. After all of these months past, they should be married by now seen as she was expecting when they left. They will be settled down, with a child on the way. I should not have been one to ruin that, although I will never admit that to anyone, not even Gaius. I heard that she was a lovely woman; a very nice young girl from what I saw of her. Apparently, she had never had a day off work until the previous days before their departure from Camelot, most likely from the effects of her pregnancy. I should have known about their relationship in the first place after all; she would be classed as a lady anyway due to her brother even though she was not of noble blood. Maybe, just maybe, I should have made that clear to them in the first place, then they would have never left Camelot and I would be expecting my grandchild in a matter of months.

I should keep this façade up of pretending to hate her, and then they will believe that I am not trying to trick them back into Camelot where she shall be executed. IF I was suddenly to accept their relationship, then it would look suspicious and they would never return to Camelot. I WOULD NEVER PUT GUINEVERE TO DEATH. LOOK WHAT IT WOULD DO TO ARTHUR AND THEIR CHILD. She will make an excellent queen one day, just like Ygraine was. I know what happened to me after the death of Ygraine and I would never want to put my own son through that; having hatred to anyone that stepped in his path. My relationship with my son may be damaged beyond repair, but I should not let him and his child have the same attitude towards one another. I need to sort this out before it gets too out of hand but most of all; I need my son and his family back. I am not angry at them for their actions, I'm furious with myself for not knowing how much they truly love each other and trying to tear them apart.

Uther sighed and rubbed his large hands over his tired weary face, before taking a large breath as he turned in the way of the door, walked over to the exit and descended down the staircase towards his chambers, ready for the rest his elderly body so desperately needed.


	21. Chapter 21

**If you have gone onto this chapter, without reading chapter 20 then you will be best off going back seen as this is a triple upload. Well... it might, probably, is better for you to go back so you will understand what is happening. If not then I hope you like it! :D **

All of Arthurs most trusted knights headed toward Ealdor to tell the prince just what was happening in Camelot, without Uther having any idea of their destination. Elyan and Leon were enraged by the Kings' words about Gwen although the matter was dropped before any of the other knights were able to get involved; knowing that they would all have something to say about it.

As they entered Ealdor, they immediately saw Arthur; working on a new piece of weaponry that appeared to be a male sword, completely oblivious to their presence. Making their way over to the prince, Gwaine snuck up behind him. "BOO!" He shouted, as Arthur jumped up from his stool; nearly dropping the weapon in his hands.

"My Lord," Leon whispered; attempting not to let any of the villages hear him "We need to speak to you and Gwen right away, it's urgent."

As soon as the words left his friends mouth, Arthurs mind immediately went into overdrive. _Is my father ill? Dead? Has he found out when Guinevere and I are hiding? _All of these questions with no answers. He locked the shed where he worked from up before following his friends into his home.

Upon entering, they saw Gwen sat by the fireplace, needle in one hand, a dress in the other whilst it rested on her humongous stomach.

Arthur walked over to his wife, kissed her on the cheek and sat down beside her, grasping her hand in his own as she dropped the fabric onto her bump. He stroked her wedding ring as he glanced at her before looking towards the knights.

"What is the meaning of this?" Arthur asked; wanting to get the news out of the way, hoping that it would not be anything too serious.

"Camelot is at war, Arthur," Elyan began. "King Olaf was not impressed when you did not marry the Lady Vivian and his army is now just outside Camelot. He will wait the most of four days before he attacks the kingdom although we do not have enough men to fight. He has around forty thousand, maybe less men out there when we can only provide at the most twenty thousand. Yes, we have more men than that in Camelot, although they are not well trained; maybe not trained at all. By the way we are looking at it, Camelot will be lost to our enemy."

All of the knights lowered their heads, knowing how much the new would affect both Arthur and Gwen.

Once again, Arthur turned his head to Guinevere as she nodded solemnly.

"Okay," he said. "Give me a matter of an hour and I will return to Camelot to assist in the war effort. Someone needs to train these knights and it can't be anyone other than me as everyone else needs to be training."

The knight's heads rose, as they stared at Arthur in shock.

"B-Bu-But Sire," Leon stepped forwards "You can't leave! What about Gwen and the baby?"

Gwen interrupted at that moment.

"Do not fear about me; I have Merlin to keep an eye on things and I won't be doing anything strenuous anyway."

"Besides," Arthur butted in "I'll be back before the baby is born anyway. By the time all of the men are trained, we will have tens of thousands of men, maybe hundreds. Olaf will stand no chance of succeeding if everything goes to plan, so it should take no longer than a day to put everything to rest."

"I am very certain that he or she will not make an appearance in the next five days." Gwen placed her needle on a table besides her and started to rub circles on her stomach which soothed the kicking sensation that her child was giving her.

"If that is your wish Arthur, then we will oblige. We must go and see Merlin, to inform him of what is happening so, if you will excuse us," Gwain said as he strode over to Gwen and place a chaste kiss on her flushed cheek before Leon and Percival also followed. "My fair Princess, "He nodded and took his exit leaving just Arthur, Gwen and Elyan.

"Help me up, Arthur," Gwen said, as he grasped her arms after removing the dress from her bump.

"Oh no Gwen, stay seated," Elyan rushed, not wanting to put his sister through too much strain.

"Shhh now Elyan. What type of a sister am I if I can't even hug my own brother?" Gwen asked.

"A pregnant one?" he replied as she chuckled along with Arthur.

"Come here," She motioned with her arms, bringing her to him in a bone crushing hug.

"Stay safe," Gwen whispered. "You better come back to me Elyan; I need you, we already lost Father."

"I promise I will return to you victorious," Elyan declared. "Besides, I believe someone will need their uncle Elyan to tell those stories about their mother as a child." He laughed as she released him from her grasp.

"I will hold you to that," Gwen warned before he too retired out of the house to meet with the rest of the knights.

"Oh, my love," Arthur sighed as he gently pulled Guinevere onto his knees, whilst he sat upon their living room bench. "Whatever shall we do? Only four months we have been married and already, Camelot's problems are interfering with our lives."

"Do not fear, my prince," Gwen reassured him as she stroked his stubbly chin with the back of her hand. "You will return by the end of the week at the most, and then you can return back home. There is no denying the fact that your father will try to get you to stay in Camelot without our Pendragon and I so we will just have to find a way to get around that when the time is near. As long as you and all of our friends stay safe then nothing else matters. The king has no idea where we are living so we will be safe from him once you have left the kingdom."

Arthur nodded, as he cupped his wife's face delicately; contrasting from his masculine worked hands. "I love you, my husband," Gwen said; her eyes closing to sense nothing other than the warmth of his fingers on her caramel cheeks.

"I love you, my wife," he answered; his head lowering towards her ever growing stomach. "And I love you too, my little Pendragon," He said in between an array of kisses. "Never forget that."


	22. Chapter 22

**If you have gone straight to this chapter, then you will probably need to go back to chapter 20 yes 20, not 21 because this is a triple upload, yay! IT has taken all day to write this so I hope it is okay. This may sound a little obsessive but... ONLY 60 DAYS PEOPLE UNTIL MERLIN AIRS IN ENGLAND AGAIN YAY! YES, I'M COUNTING DOWN HERE TO SEE BREADLEY JAMES' FACE EVERY SATURDAY HAHA IM OBSESSED :P Hope you enjoy it a little :) **

Arthur exited his home little past four 'clock, bags attached firmly to his back, as he approached his friend who were waiting patiently outside for their prince. Both he and Guinevere agreed that she would not see him off, for that would make their separation even more upsetting than it already was.

"You ready?" Leon asked, grabbing one of Arthurs bags that unbeknown to them, contained one of Guinevere's dresses which even she did not notice had been taken.

"As ready as I will ever be," he replied; his voice breaking, barely above a whisper.

"Well then, we better get a move on; the day will be almost at an end before we return to Camelot. " Elyan informed them as they started their long trek back to Camelot.

Arthur caught up with Elyan who had taken the lead, wanting to have a word with him in private without any of the other knights knowing.

He coughed to get his brother-in-laws attention as Elyan turned around to face him.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"I… I um just wanted to say," Arthur stuttered as he scratched the back of his head, ruffling up his blond hair. "I never would have left Guinevere unless I felt it was necessary. I just wanted to make sure you understand that."

"Arthur," Elyan started. "It is perfectly okay. Gwen and your child are both safe and as long as that is certain, then everything is alright. Merlin has offered to care for her every day until you get back, to ensure nothing is wrong and will inform us if anything does happen." Elyan gave him a pat on the back as Arthur gave out a slight laugh.

"Well, that is a relief!" Arthur sighed as Elyan lowered his hand to his side.

The pair spoke about battle techniques most of the journey, whilst Leon, Percival and Gwain trailed behind; exhausted from the day events. The occasional childhood story about Gwen popped up and by the time they stood outside Camelot's walls Arthur already had a favourite story of his wife that one day, he would tell his child.

*flashback*

A ten year old Gwen skipped through the forest of flowers and branches, whilst Elyan followed limply behind; dragging his fifteen year old body though the vast amount of trees. They had been out the majority of the summer's day, playing with some of their friends from the local village before they had to go inside to dine or help their parents with daily chores.

"Gwen," Elyan whined as she disappeared from his view. "Gwen, come on Gwen, we must be getting home; Father will want to know where we are."

"No he won't silly," she giddily laughed as she stepped out from behind a tree which made her brother jump backwards. "Father said that as long as we are back before the sun goes to rest, we are allowed to stay out."

Elyan huffed as Gwen continued her venture into the woods, making sure he kept an eye on her at all times. Ahead of both of them, he saw a clearing which by now, Gwen was already through.

"Ely, Ely," Gwen shouted; disturbing the quietness of the timbers. "Come here, it's just like I have always dreamed about."

As he retreated from a branch that has hooked onto his cotton shirt, his little sister came into his sight; spinning around continuously; her curls bounding on the nape of her neck and back.

Undeniably; the vision in front of him was beautiful; the suns light beaming down on the cutest little girl he had ever laid eyes on whilst she embraced her childhood to the fullest.

All of a sudden, Gwen stopped moving. For a second, Elyan thought that she has seen something dangerous up ahead; bull or bandits that kept her frozen in her spot, before she sprung back to life; jumping up and down clapping.

"Ely, Ely," She screeched; turning around to face him.

"What's up Gwennie?" he asked attempting to quieten her down.

"Over there, El!" Gwen said, her arm outstretched as she pointed to a lake not a hundred metres in front.

"Gwen no," He told her sternly. "What would father say if we turned up home drenched?"

But she was already ahead of him, as she began to approach the glistening water that captured her attention.

"Guinevere, come back here now!" he demanded, chasing after her.

"Nope," she sang whilst disappearing once more behind a bunch of trees.

He stopped once he reached the edge of the lake, turning round 360° as he heard a rustling of leaves.

"Guinevere," He said; before he felt the sharp pain of needles stabbing him. Laughter came from above him as he realised what had happened. _That little minx. _He thought as he arose from the freezing waters; seeing Gwen on the ground laughing at her brother's misfortune.

He pulled himself up onto the bank, shaking off the excess water as his long hair flopped around; hitting Gwen as she stopped laughing.

"Oh no!" She said as she got up quickly and ran.

"Oh yes," Elyan told her, chasing after his sister, still soaked by the cold substance. "Come give your big brother a hug."

"Never!" she replied, before he grabbed her; immediately wetting her summers dress as he picked her up and jumped back into the pool, her still in his arms.

*End of flashback*

"Are you ready for this?" Leon asked as the other knights came up behind him.

"As ready as I'm ever going to be!"


	23. Chapter 23

**For people who have already read the triple update I put on today, this IS another chapter and to the people who have not read my other chapters which have been uploaded today, they start at chapter 20. So you people get a quadruple update. I hope you enjoy :)**

A knock came to Uthers' chamber door, startling him as he 'jumped' out of his bed before wrapping a gown around his form.

"Enter," he shouted; just loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear him.

Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing Elyan, Leon and Gwain.

"My lord," the knight bowed as they took their place in front of him; staring at the ground whilst tapping their feet on the stone below them.

"Yes?" the king inquired, wondering why they had interrupted him at this time of night.

"We have someone to see you, Sire" Gwain spoke up, raising his glance to the man in front of him.

Uther glared down at his best knights annoyed.

"It better be someone damn well important, have you any idea about what time it is?" Uther questioned. "I-"

But the king was cut off by a masculine cough that instantly caught his attention.

He raised his head; his eyes immediately locking on a pair of icy ones that only two people he knew of possessed.

"Arthur," he breathed; not quite believing that it was his son who was right there in front of him.

"My Lord," he replied, bowing before his father breaking Uther from the shock of seeing him.

"Well…,"Gwain begun. "Our job here is done, my lords." Gwain bowed along with Leon and Percival as they exited the kings chambers leaving the father and son alone; unable to say a word to each other.

After minutes of staring, Uther was the first one to break the silence.

"I see you are wed," he motioned to the ring that adorned Arthurs' left hand as Arthur nodded.

"Indeed I am, to the most beautiful, caring woman in all of Camelot; whom I shall be returning to after this war is over. There is no way she is getting hurt or killed by the likes of you or your followers." The anger rolled of his tongue in vicious words, clearly cautious about what he said to the king.

"I…I… I didn't intend on it," Uther stuttered; his brain jumbled with so many questions that needed answers. _Has Gwen had the baby yet? Where are they living? Have they got enough money? What is Arthur doing to provide for his family? _"Is Gwen okay?" he asked hoping that both her and his grandchild was healthy.

"She is very well, my lord."

"And the baby?" He inquired; hurt by his only son not calling him 'Father,' although he did not expect it after everything he did towards him.

"Still just over a month until he or she is born," Arthur replied as he tapped his hands on his trousers.

"You must be very excited; I know your mother and I were overjoyed at the news of you." Uther tried to lighten up the mood, although it seemed to do no good. Arthur stared back at him with nothing but a straight face, anger deep in his eyes.

"Our child is the best thing that has happened to us lately. There has not been much to celebrate other than he or she and our wedding."

Uther lowered his head; knowing full well that he was the centre of their misery.

"I never wanted either of you to get hurt; physically or emotionally. I know that it is hard to see that, but I do truly mean that."

"Yes well, there is no way that I am taking that chance. My family mean the world to me and I will put them in no situation where any one of them is at risk of getting hurt."

_Family? _Uther thought. _I suppose that I am not family now seen as I have caused so much damage. I have no family, no wife, no children, and no siblings. Oh my life. What has is become?_

"My lord…" Arthur asked as his king stared into the distance. "My lord?" he asked once more.

"Yes Arthur?" Uther was suddenly pushed out of his thoughts by his sons' voice.

"I will return to the castle tomorrow morning to begin training the less experienced knights and male civilians. My armour I have brought with me so that is no problem, farewell, Sire."

Arthur bowed once more, as he went to make is departure.

"Wait!" Uther said; stopping Arthur in his tracks as he turned around. "Your chambers are as you left them if you would like to stay here." He suggested but the prince just shook his head.

"I am no longer Arthur, Crown Prince of Camelot; I'm just Arthur Pendragon, a peasant trying to make a living and give a helping hand. With that, he left Uther standing there, dumbstruck.

_I thought that I could pretend to hate Guinevere, but who could hate someone who makes a person so happy? She is a wonderful match for my son, it's just a shame that I never realised it before now. _


	24. Chapter 24

**Now, whilst I realise that this isn't the best writing, it has taken me quite a bit of the day to do. Once you have read it you will be like... Seriously? But... I need to do my daily reading as well. 13 stories on wattpad I have read today. I know that it isn't a lot but it helps with my English (I think :/ ) Anyways... here, have a Italian moustache man :{D **

Arthurs' eyes shot open as the dawn in Camelot broke. _Where in the world am I? _Was the first question that came into his head. _And where on Earth is Guinevere? _He squirmed around for a minute, feeling something rough up against his calf before giving up and pulling the covers off his from. There lay Guinevere's dress, crumpled up; snaking around his legs. Arthur lowered his torso and grabbed the garment; pulling it to his nose and taking a deep breath of her scent. His eyelids drooped closed whilst he snuggled up to the violet fabric; imagining her next to him; the velvet feeling of her skin against his.

A few seconds passed before he realised that he was no longer in Ealdor but back in Camelot after confronting his father the previous night; lying in the bed that him and Gwen shared for many exhausting, secretive years. He rose quickly, remembering that he had training first thing, dressed in his freshly shined armour after regrettably dropping Gwen's dress and headed towards the training field whilst taking in the summer's air. He paused outside of the walls that guarded the field and spun around; soaking up the scene in front of him. Citizens were bustling around him doing daily chores; whilst little children ran around; making the most out of the summer days.

He drifted into a daydream; wondering about what his own child and in time children would be like. Arthur imagined them playing in the greenery that surrounded their home as he and Guinevere lounged on a blanket arm in arm, watching their children have the time of their lives. He'd feed her the freshest of fruits; kiss her senseless; tasting the sweetness of berries whilst their children who were incredibly embarrassed looked away from their parents disgusted by their actions. Both he and his wife would laugh at them; her melodic sound travelling to his brain where it would immediately make his skin rise in goose bumps as he would shudder; bringing Guinevere even closer to him; reminding himself that she was his and he was hers.

A tug on his trousers brought the prince out of his dreams. Looking down, Arthur noticed a few little children; staring up at him with wide eyes. A young boy maybe four… five stepped forward and widened his slim lips as he began speaking.

"Are you him?" The boy asked as he curved his lips upwards; his cheeks chubby, containing cute little dimples. He flicked his long auburn hair from his emerald eyes as Arthur lowered his knees; coming face to face with the child in front of him.

"And who do you believe I am?" Arthur questioned; amusement playing in his eyes.

"Are you the prince; the crown prince who left Camelot with Gwen? Oh, such a lovely person she is; we all miss her," The boy babbled on, excitement deep inside his pupils. "It is such a shame that she left the kingdom. She would make a wonderful queen; a mother to all; a woman who everyone looked up to. The servant queen! She gives us hope, you know? One day, we will all look up to her as the sovereign that defied all laws. If and when she becomes our ruler alongside the prince; she will have become the first ever non-noble blooded person to take the throne." Arthur could tell that the boy was running out of breath although he enjoyed how much everybody worshiped his wife.

One of the children from behind the little boy tapped him on the shoulder; before whispering into his ear.

"Oh yes, sorry. Back to the point; are you Prince Arthur?" The youngster asked once more; a grin playing on Arthur's lips.

"Why yes I am," He chuckled. "At least, I was until my wife and I left Camelot."

The other children scurried closer to Arthur just like they had done to the pied piper; all eager to hear what the prince has to say.

"You see, princes like me are not meant to love people below our status but, sometimes these things happen. Love happens and you just can't deny it. Your parents will have told you about fairy tales; Cinderella, she was not meant to love the prince; for she was just a servant for her wicked step mother, but she married prince charming because above the odds; love will always win over anything. Remember that and it will get you far in life."

By now a group of several people had gathered around him; people who Arthur thought must have been the children's parents as he rose from the ground; acknowledging them.

"My Lord?" One of the middle-aged women asked as she bowed towards his feet.

"Arthur please," he requested nodding his head as he urged her on.

"Arthur, where is Gwen?"

"She is at home; unfortunately she could not come back to Camelot for several reasons." Arthur answered; knowing that everyone wanted to know the reason for her absence. "At the moment she is unfit to travel away from the village where we now live and I'm sure King Uther would not be overjoyed to see her. As well as this, I am not one to put my wife in danger when a war is about to break out. "

A few people gave understanding nods; as they all realised what Uther was like when it came to commoners whilst others let out gasps as soon as the word "wife" escaped Arthur's lips.

"That is right, Guinevere is now my wife. We married in a private service four months ago and will not be returning back to Camelot for quite some time, might I add."

"Bu..but Arthur," Once again, he nodded as an older man with grey flicks of hair scattered over his face spoke up, "You are here now."

Arthur let out a chuckle as the man's words.

"Ah… as you see, that is true. What I mean is, I will be returning back to my home after this war is over. I have someone I need meet and bring back to Camelot as well as Guinevere, but cannot do so until they are fit to travel and are not in danger from the likes of the king."

Everyone nodded in understanding as Arthur remembered he had men that needed training.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have men to train ready for King Olaf's war," Arthur said as the peasants lowered their heads and continued with their day; mumbling their goodbyes whilst the children stayed put; staring at him with mouths hung open.

"Arthur?" A little boy asked, different from the one who had last spoke to him.

"Yes…"

"Kilan, Arthur."

"Yes Kilan?"

"Where are you going?" He asked; fascinated by the knight stood in front of him.

"Well Kilan… I am going to train some citizens on how to beat the bad men outside of these walls." He bent down again; coming eye level with the mahogany eyed lad and saw the interest in them. "Would you all like to come along and watch," he asked. "You never know… one day, you might become a knight just like I am."

"B…Bu…But Arthur, I am nothing more than a commoner," Kilan stuttered; sadness brimming in his eyes.

Arthur reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Never believe that you can't do it because you are not of noble blood. Guinevere will one day be Queen of Camelot but to start off with, she was nothing but a servant. Sir Elyan, her brother, is now a knight for the king himself as well as Sir Gwaine. Trust me Kilan, when I am king; it will not matter if you are rich, poor, noble or not; everyone will have a chance to become a knight."

Kilan's face lit up as he started jumping up and down along with the other children surrounding Arthur. A chorus of "Yay's" and "Long live the prince" surrounded him as for once in Arthur's life, he felt better about the future Camelot had to offer.

"So how about this training," Arthur asked. "Are you ready to see what it takes to be a knight? "

**Yeah... suckish ending, I know but the training scene would just be boring if I wrote it. Plus there is no way I could write it after seeing Bradley James sword fight (type in youtube"Stop fighting like a girl, Bradley) :O There are no words to describe him fighting and plus I have to write the War scene if I can do it which fight scenes are even worse for me and it would pretty much just be the same thing as them fighting King Olaf's men anyway. **


	25. Chapter 25

**First of all, I am so sorry that I have not updated in a few days but I have been so busy with my poetry that I just haven't had the time to write this. It is very short and I apologize for that as well but I have also had a letter to write to the education board as I am trying to get the head teacher at my old school to consider some ridiculous proposals she has put forward. Yup a 15-year-old is going to the board instead of the parents of students there but I enjoy it so oh well. Anyway... back to topic, this chapter introduces a different character which I hope everyone will like... maybe. One more thing and to me this is important... as I have mentioned several times, I write a lot of poetry which at the moment it is on Wattpad. I would really appreciate it if you guys could check it out as I need all the reads I can to win "The Atty Awards." Heres the link if you are bored and fancy doing a bit more reading. user/EmmaMillard Thanks :{D By the way, "Unexpecting" is also on there so if you want to vote, please do and I might update it on there before I do on here sometimes. Hope you enjoy. :{P**

Gwen sat at home for the best part of the three days Arthur had already been away; sewing, knitting and most of all worrying what the king had to say at his return. At night, she would panic at what Uther was planning to do to all of them. _Maybe he has Arthur captured in the dungeon for defying the king? Maybe he is searching for my person right now, torturing Arthur until he tells his father where we are living; s_o many thoughts that were unanswered by the silence of her home.

Merlin had visited Gwen everyday once he was finished with his shift at work, helping the local physician with patients that required his knowledge. Gaius had set him up with the job, ecstatic with the news that Merlin was standing on his own two feet in the world. He had found himself a house, a job and unknown to any of his friends; a woman who stole his heart from the minute he had laid eyes on her; Maya.

Maya was a maid that had been working for the lord of a manor close by when she met Merlin, as he assisted the physician at her workplace due to an illness that had infected the noble's wife. Immediately, they knew that this was it; they would never need another person other than their love. They had spent every spare moment together; whether it was after Merlin was done visiting Gwen or when they had finished a long, hectic days' work. Merlin felt guilty that he had fallen in love to another woman after Freya, although he just could not stop his feeling for his woman. He was well and truly in love.

Gwen relaxed back in her rocking chair that Arthur had built especially for his wife and prayed; hoping that her husband would make it home tomorrow; alive and unscratched. She prayed that Arthur would see his child being brought into this world; that he would cradle his little Pendragon in his arms and sing to them night after night as they drifted off to sleep. She prayed that one day, the three of them would return to Camelot as a family; ready to take their place on the throne; and fix all of the wrongs that Uther had caused. They would make anyone a knight whether noble or not, and accept magic if it caused no harm to them or their people. Her eyelids drooped closed as she imagined her love with their child, pretending to fight like a knight while she looked on from the balcony of the castle. Arthur at night would tell their child of all his quests that he had ventured onto; all of the times their Uncle Merlin had made a mistake that make him look like a fool and most importantly, the story of how a simple maidservant caught the heart of the Prince of Camelot.

Guinevere's rosy full lips curved into a smile as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep, knowing full well that today, she had Arthur fighting for his kingdom, doing what was right, and tomorrow he would return to her as they lived in peace once more.

**Just to let you know, I am so close to putting this on hold seen as I would really like to continue my poetry as it is actually not as bad as my story writing. **


	26. Chapter 26

**I apologize that I have not uploaded in a week but it has been pretty hectic. I have probably read 500 maybe more poems which was torture (my amazing plans always end up not so spectacular) then I wrote about 7 new ones, whilst I wrote this chapter twice. I was going to write it in first person seen as Gwen had a chapter in first person so I thought that he should too. (Another thing that didn't work well) So I wrote a whole new chapter. Plus I have a whole years worth of history and RE work, extra maths coursework, my other story for English, a Spanish essay to learn off by heart and 8 geography presentations to do in three weeks. Lame excuse but it is true. I'm sorry but this chapter I hate so you might not like it :{I**

Stood outside the walls of Camelot, Arthur and his best knights surveyed the scene in front of them. There stood thirty, maybe forty thousand of Olaf's men; all blood thirsty and eager to kill anyone that threatened to wreck their vicious plans.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Elyan asked Arthur, coming up behind the prince, before placing a hand on his chain-mailed shoulder.

"This is not a case of wanting to do this Elyan; I must do this. We cannot let King Olaf take something that is rightfully ours. I caused this war, me. Not you, Uther or any of the citizens, me. I made the decision to marry Guinevere and leave Camelot, without as much as a word to my father or our enemy. If anyone should fight this battle, then it should be me and me alone." Arthur sighed; lowering his head towards the cobblestone that lead from the forests to the castle and ruffled his blond hair with scared hands.

"My Lord," Leon came up behind the knights, interrupting Elyan from trying to persuade Arthur not to fight.

Immediately, the prince raised his head and turned around to face his best knight.

"What's the news Sir Leon?" He questioned; his voice rough yet frail.

"Sire, your father wishes for you to guard the castle along with all of us. He says that the most advanced knights should protect the citizens, the woman and children, whilst the men defend Camelot. That way, we have a bigger population of citizens alive."

Arthur huffed and sighed once more as he just managed to fold his chain covered arms together.

"Yes well… I have broken most of my father's rules, what's another one going to do?" He replied; irritated at his father's attempt's to keep a close eye on him.

"You mean that you are not going to do as the king says?" Leon questioned; worried of what Uther would say once he found out about Arthur's ignorance to his command.

"That is exactly what I am saying Sir Leon. I am certainly not going to defend the castle whilst these men with hardly any training are attempting to slay Olaf's army who have been training with the sword half of their lives!"

"Very well then sire, as you wish." With that, Leon made his entrance into Camelot, shaking his head as he was now left to deal with the agitated king.

"Arthur," Elyan spoke up once more; knowing that this was his only chance to talk him out of this idiocy, "Please, thinks about this! Think about Gwen and your child! What is going to happen if you are injured? Or worse; killed? They need you, Arthur!"

"Camelot needs me, Elyan! Your niece of nephew is not due for another month at least and Guinevere is the one that told me she was okay. Do you really think that I would leave her alone, knowing that she was in danger? I am telling you now, I would never do that! Merlin is right there with her, and even though it seems like I do not trust him, I trust him a damn lot more that I do anyone else!" Arthur's voice started to rise as Elyan stepped back, almost tripping over a lose stone. "I'm sorry," Arthur said as he took deep breaths to try and calm him down. "It's just, with the baby and looking after Guinevere whilst training these knights and returning to Camelot to be reunited with my father; it's getting just too much," once more, he sighed whilst placing his gloved hands on his leather belt. "These people need me Elyan," Arthur whispered. "Let's face it; many of these brave hearted men who are fighting from something ridiculous are going to die today. They are going to leave their wives as widows, children fatherless and at the end of the day, I will be returning back home to Ealdor where my wife is waiting for me carrying my child. Where is that fair? I can survive this battle, just like I realise most of the knights can, but these men have had four days training. Four days! Not four months; not four years… four days!"

Elyan stepped forwards towards his brother-in-law.

"Please just think about this!" _It's worth one more shot_, Elyan thought; before his daydreaming was interrupted by the clattering of armour; as the men of Camelot made their way out to the battlefield.

"The time for thinking is done, Elyan. All of us knights will make it out alive."

With that, Arthur shuddered as he prepared himself for war, before heading out to the front of the army, followed by Leon, Percival and Gwaine who had also ignored the king's orders with Elyan trudging behind them.

"For the love of Camelot!" Arthur bellowed at the top of his lungs as he withdrew his custom made swords from his belt.

"For the love of Camelot," A chorus of men said, after finishing their silent prayers for safety as they too held some sort of battle element in their hands.

They charged forwards, soon clashing with Olaf's Army as the clanging of metal rang in Arthur's ears.

"For the love of Guinevere and little Pendragon," he whispered as his sword automatically entered a man's chest. For a brief moment; he looked at the man on the end of his weapon and saw the sadness in his eyes that were slowly losing life. The dark haired tanned man appeared just a few years older than himself, maybe twenty-five; so much he had to live for.

"I love you, Neola" the man murmured as his eyes drooped closed, whilst Arthur felt like it had just been him stabbed instead. With that, he withdrew the sword and ran.

Then everything was a blur.

**By the way, I was flicking through my account and I found all those guest reviews. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and if you wanna review then do. My Poetry is now of and If you want to check it out, my user name is the same as it is on here! Remember my wattpad one is user/EmmaMillard if you want to look. Anyways... Chow :{D **


	27. Chapter 27

**So hello...  
At this moment, I know a few of you will want to kill me but for those of you who read the note, I hope you understand that I REALLY can't have my grades affected by this story. As well as that, my poetry has been a main focus too since I am writing a poetry book to be published and I was also in Germany for over 2 weeks where I couldn't upload anything. ****This is short and you might not understand some of it but all will be explained in later chapters. I have the rest of the story planned up to the end so we are looking at about 9/10 more chapters.**

The war was brutal. As the knights emerged one by one from the battlefield, they absorbed how much damage was done. Pools of crimson blood soaked into the skin of fallen soldiers whilst small fires slowly burnt as knights tallied up how many men they had lost.

"I've got 836 men," Leon announced as the other knights joined him at the gates of Camelot; hands sturdy on his hips.

"951," Elyan reported as he took a place next to the Gwaine; his blood-stained hands running through his chestnut hair.

The friends all shook their heads at the devastation that lay before them, whilst Elyan suddenly raised his; staring into the distance. His friends took note of the sudden movement, as they too stared, although this time, it was towards the knight.

"Elyan?" Gwaine questioned; attempting to take him out of the trance that he was in. "Elyan," he tried once more, before he shook his head and looked at each of the knights in front of him.

"Has anyone seen Arthur?" he asked; his voice shaken and hoarse.

The men turned around to inspect the scene in front of them; all of them searching for their sovereign. Panic submerged the knights faces as they all hoped that their worst fear was not about to come true.

"Scout the area; he has to be here somewhere!"

* * *

Arthur shook violently, as the pool of blood that had rapidly begun to expand drenched his tunic through his chain mail. A slash, directly above his hip bone oozed the crimson liquid from the metal protectant, whilst Arthur panted; attempting to keep him in consciousness. Thoughts raced through his mind; the obvious ones being of Guinevere and their child, although many others also reached his attention. If he passed, then who would rule Camelot? Uther would not live forever, and his child was not yet born; never mind old enough to rule a kingdom! No other heirs roamed the Earth that he knew of, meaning that the benefactors would be Lords of the land once Uther had died. That could not happen; Camelot was the Pendragon's Kingdom; their heritage.

He inhaled a sharp breath, as pain shot through his torso; whilst a haze began to drown out his vision. Then everything was black.

* * *

Hours passed of endlessly search for the prince. The knights had grown weary almost immediately; still tired from the battle that had took place only hours beforehand, yet carried on their venture for Arthur; their hope that he was alive draining from the pores in their skin minute by minute.

All of the knights had been searching through Camelot's fallen soldiers; wishing that he would not be one of them, panting for breath with each step that they took.

"He's not here," Gwaine shouted from the large stretch of land that he was searching; his breath coming out in ragged gasps.

"He's not here either," Leon chirped up from the other side of Elyan as he began to approach the knight; sweat dripping off his forehead; out of every pore on his body.

"We can't give up on him," Elyan bellowed towards his friends. "He would never give up so easily, Arthur can't be dead! Think of Gwen and my niece or nephew; what would happen if we left Arthur for dead? This child would be fatherless; my sister, after being through so much already, would be widowed. We can't do this to them! "

Everyone nodded their head in agreement, before they heard a rustling in some bushes that lay close by.

"Who goes there?" Percival asked; his voice strong and demanding.

No answer came.

"Who goes there?" Percival questioned once more, before striding over to the greenery; tearing the leaves away to leave a battered Arthur in view. He surveyed the prince before him; blood trickling from his drained body. His skin appeared to be a sickly white colour underneath the liquid that had seeped out from the layers of material.

"Over here!" Percival bellowed towards the others. "He's here; Arthur's here!"

The men all rushed over towards the two knights; panic setting on everyone's face, whilst Percival bent down to see if he was still alive.

"He needs medical help, now. He has a weak pulse, although I know it won't be for much longer if we leave him for a while. Let's get him back to Camelot before it's too late."

**Some of you might be thinking now... how is he alive? Will he make it? And any other questions that buzzes round in your mind. Well, it will be explained, just don't hold it against me... please? Pretty please :{D**


	28. Chapter 28

**Yes yes; I'm a bad person for not uploading in nearly a month but now with me being stupid old Emma, I am now taking an extra maths GCSE and taking up French when I am already learning Spanish (I'm only doing it for a certain teacher haha.) Blah blah blah... no other excuses.**

**Ohhh I would really appreciate it if you could check out my new book on Wattpad called "You're my saviour" **  
**My user on there is EmmaMillard with no space!**

**I have about 21 pieces of work on there and I would love it if you could check some of it out. By the way, IT DOES DO FANFICTION SO IF YOU WANNA CHECK THAT OUT TOO THEN IT'S ON THERE SOMEWHERE!  
**

**:{D**

"W…Wh….what?" Gwen stuttered, her mind incapable to comprehend the words Gwaine said; whilst tears brimmed at her eye lids as she rocked on her rocking chair; unable to stand.

"Arthur's in Camelot still; he got seriously injured in the war and is unable to travel. He is still unconscious as far as we are aware, although he should make it; Arthur's a strong man and luckily, he covered his wound before he passed out which slowed down the bleeding."

Gwen placed her head in her hands as she silent shook whilst crying softly. All of the knights wished that there was something that they could do, yet they came up with nothing. Elyan approached her cautiously and placed a hand on the small of her back.

"We will keep you informed of any changes in his condition, Sister" Elyan solemnly informed her as he soothingly rubbed small circles on her spine.

"Changes?" Gwen questioned; raising her tear stained face to bring her brother's into view. "My husband is dying and you expect me to stay here; not knowing if he will even see me or our child again? That will not happen! I'm coming with you and don't you dare try to change my mind!"

All of the knights raised their heads that had been lowered to the ground upon arrival; eyes of jade, crystal and maroon widening at their princess' outrageous decision.

"Gwen, we know that you believe this is the right decision but have you forgotten about Uther? He will have you killed, the instant you step foot in Camelot and as knights and your best friends slash family, and we cannot put you in that position."

"What position? If I don't have Arthur alive, then what do I have? I have our child, _ours!" _She emphasised, her emotions breaking down little by little; exhausting her weak, fragile body. "This," Gwen placed her hands on her torso, "Is mine and Arthur's child, not just mine and it needs both of us. For all we know, Uther could kill Arthur because he left Camelot. Everybody understands that he will do anything to make sure the 'royal bloodline' will not get infected and here we are; a child with half royal blood whilst the other half runs common. Uther realises that if Arthur is dead then I will have no reason to live. It's mind games and I need to be with my husband to make sure that he lives!"

All of the friends glanced at each other; sending silent messages that Gwen did not pick up. _Must be the hormones, _they thought; _she is clearly not in her right state of mind_.

"No," Elyan huffed; hating every moment of denying his sister her rights to see her husband.

"Bu-"

"No buts"

"But-"

"NO GUINEVERE PENDRAGON!"

"Fine," She grumbled, before waddling over to the wooden door that separated the living quarters from hers and Arthur's bedroom; opening it, with a _creak _of the hinges; and slamming it shut.

Once inside, she removed a leather satchel from beneath the wooden bed frame and began to pack all of the things that she would need to last her the travels to Camelot.

"Well here goes nothing!"


	29. Chapter 29

**So... it's been ages since I updated this, but I just never got round to writing it and I had nothing to do today seen as I have Writers Block for "More Than Love" which is already on chapter 7! I will be updating this story on Wattpad much more than on here becuase it's a better wesite :{D **

Gwen had been travelling to Camelot for the best part of four hours and she was exhausted! She could now see it in the distance, although as she got closer to the castle walls, her nerves grew for the welfare of all her family. Though she knew that she had to take care of her unborn child, she also realised that if she had no Arthur, then she would not be able to take care of their child either.

Approching the gates, the two guards at the enterence noticed her waddling and strode towards her as she drew in a breath.

_Here goes nothing. _

_"_Good afternoon..." The first one started; his voice hoarse as he waited for her name, whilst the other stood at his colleagues side.

"Guinevere, Guinevere Pendragon. I'm here to see my husband."

Uther had anticipated for this day for many months. As he 'flew' down the corridors of his castle, the servants moved to the sides and bowed respectfully. When reaching the grand oak doors that sealed off the council chambers, the guards nodded and opened them, revealing a very pregnant Gwen.

Upon hearing the doors being opened, she turned around and stared at the king; bowing slightly.

"My Lord," She spoke; trying to gain all of the courage that she could muster.

"Guinevere," He replied as he took a few steps forward, before he turned around, towards the guard. "Leave us."

They too bowed and left the room; leaving just him and Gwen in those four walls.

Facing Gwen once more, he spoke up.

"I see you are here for Arthur." Gwen took note that his tone was not icy like it was when he sentenced her to death many months beforehand.

"Indeed I am, Sire. I understand that he has been seriously injured and I couldn't be faced with the fact that I'll never see him again." Her head lowered as she tapped her foot on the stone ground beneath, waiting for what he was going to say next.

"Very well, he is in his old chambers. I will take you to him."

Gwen raised her head and stared at Uther with wide eyes.

_Why isn't he sending me to the cells or running me through with a sword. _

"I know what you're thinking, Gwen." He broke her chain of thought.

"And what is that, My Lord?"

"You're wondering why I am not punishing you for taking my son off me. I would be wondering the same thing too if I was you, but over the past months, I see just how good you are for him. I can't do anything about your marriage or child, and to be honest, I don't want to. I know how much Arthur loves both of you and besides, I have been trying to get him to marry for many years and here he is, married with a child on the way. Now I see why he was always against the idea of getting married to a lady, because he always wanted you."

A smile grew on Gwen's face at the king's words.

"You must know Sire, I never wanted to take your son off you. It's just that some things happen at the wrong time."

She peered down at her stomach, just like Uther did.

"I know Gwen, now how about we see your husband."


	30. Chapter 30

**So ... sorry for the long wait, but my friends and I was gutted when we heard that Merlin was being axed so I refused to write it as I wanted to write my other fanfic "Forbidden secrets" because Castle isn't being axed (thank God!) but then I realised that i have a lot of loyal people reading "Unexpecting." I made this chapter longer because I am in Spanish and bored to death, so I thought that I would do something productive. **

Gwen sat by Arthur's bedside, just like she had done the many nights beforehand, her hand gently grasping his as he lay there, unconsious. He had not woken since she had returned to Camelot; which gave her little hope that he would ever come back to her. Just when she was about to give up, their little Pendragon would kick her womb, making her realise that she had to keep hope.

She heard a knock come to Arthur's chamber's door, as a guard stepped into the room, sword at his side in his usual Pendragon Red cloak, as she turned to face him.

"My Lady, you must rest." He tried, but it was no use; as she dismissed him immediately.

"I'm fine, I just have to stay here. If he wakes up and I'm not here... I'd dread to think what would happen between him and his father."

"But My La-"

"I said I'm fine," She sighed; turning back around to face her husband.

"Very well," The guard replied; before opening the door and stepping out of the room; the door slamming behind him as the sound of his retreating footsteps made relief wash over her exhausted form.

Once more, she released a sigh and pressed her forehead against Arthur's.

"Oh Arthur, dear, please come back to us. We all need you desperately; the day is gaining when our child will be brought into this world and your father's health is deteriorating. Please, My Love, we need you." The last part of her sentence came out as a slight whisper, as she tried to choke back the tears. It was no use though, as one unruly droplet slipped from her tear duct, landing upon his pale cheek. "Please Arthur."

Once that one tear had escaped, there was no stopping the many others that fell after, one after the other onto his handsome features as she cried softly into the crook of his neck, whilst a drowsiness began to take over her body.

Uther was charging down the halls towards Arthur's chambers, knowing that Gwen had still not left his side. One of his personal guards, had informed the King that she still refused to leave his son's side, even after many days of waiting for him to wake; exhausting her weak, frail body.

Upon reaching the strong, brass door to Arthur's chamber, he knocked; ignoring the guards, though no answer came. Once more, he knocked, though still, nothing. Uther turned to the guards that was stationed at either side.

"Open the doors!" He commanded, the guards keeping a straight face; even at their king's demanding tone.

With that, the doors opened, instantly bringing into view the Prince and his wife; Gwen curled up to her husband's frame. Uther strode over to the couple silently, peering down at Gwen to give her an assessment, as she wouldn't be seen by anyone other than Gaius who was away visiting old friends. He could see from the red rings around her usually bright eyes, that she had been crying, and the whiteness of her face startled the elderly king. He shook his head silently at the sight of his daughter-in-law and sighed. As softly as he could, he picked her up from the bed, and took her into a seperate room, next to Arthur's and set her down on the queen-sized bed that was dressed in Pendragon Red fabrics.

"Ah...my child, so sweet, so caring." Uther whispered to a sleeping Gwen, "Such a perfect match for my dear, dear son."

She smiled gently; her dreams bringing a great amount of joy to her mood. Gwen snuggled up to the blankets, burrying her head in the plump pilliows as Uther left her after inspecting her facial features once more. The once red, inflamed eyes had settled down a little and some colour was returing to her cheeks; thanks to the sleep that she had been deprived of for so many nights.

The morning brought along beams of sunlight that cast down on Arthur's chambers, making the young prince's eyelids flutter open. His icy eyes showed a glint of worry; realising where he was, as he shot up in the king sized bed that he lay in; immeditaley gaining a headache and dizzyness.

Ignoring the pain that shot through his body, he swung his form over to the side of the bed and stood up; the cool breeze instantly hitting his bare torso. Arthur shivered and walked over to his wardrobe, opening it and pulling out a fresh shirt from the last time that he was in Camelot, that was now, a little too small for him. Pulling on a pair of breeches, Arthur fled his chambers, and went to exit the castle, trying to dodge the guards and knights, as he made it towards Gwen's old home.

Reaching her cottage, Arthur opened the door and stepped inside, dropping onto the bench that was centred in her main room and placed his head in his hands. Although he was deperate to get back to Gwen in Ealdor, Arthur also knew that he had to take it slow, otherwise the pain would only increase and his travel would be longer.

After a few minutes resting, he rose off the bench, stumbled over to the sleeping quarters and dropped down onto their bed. Closing his eyelids, he drifted off to sleep, only to be greeted with the image of Guinevere clear in his mind.

"Gwen."

Nothing.

"Gwen."

Still nothing.

"Guinevere."

Uther lightly tapped the sleeping lady on the shoulder, in the hopes that she would wake soon, yet nothing.

"Guinevere," he tried once more, as her eyelids began to open gently; her muddy orbs staring at his frozen ones.

"My lord," She whispered sleepily as she awkwardly tried to sit up, after stretching her arms whilst yawning.

"Ahh...Gwen; i do not wish to alarm you, but do you know the whereabouts of the prince?"

Gwen's eyes widened.

"Whereabouts? What do you mean whereabouts?" She panicked; the last she knew, her husband was fighting for his life in his chambers after being stabbed in the war.

"The prince has gone."

Before Uther could even react, Gwen got up painfully off the bed and exited the chambers that she had slept in; waddling down the halls. She dragged her feet down the never ending corridors and descended down the flight of stairs, gripping onto the banister to make sure that she didn't fall.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the guards opened the main castle doors as she fled the building; Uther trailing behind, although his old age made him much slower than Gwen.

"Gwen," he shouted, as she entered the market square; but it was no use. She was gone.


	31. Chapter 31

**Ok, so I'm a terrible person for not updating in months, but I'm getting back into it. I've been kinda lost with all of my other books and ill for the last month which hasn't helped much either. It's short but I'm hoping that the next chapter will be much longer :{D**

**Remember to check out my book "Secrets of a school girl" on Wattpad (The trailer is also on youtube, just type in 'secrets of a school girl wattpad trailer') **

There was many people that never expected to see Gwen again. There was many who believed that if she ever did return, then she'd be dead before she reached Camelot. There was many who didn't recognise her at all; though she was almost impossible to miss.

'Running' through the town square - earning stares of many people - she headed towards her old home; the bottom of her dress in her hands so she didn't risk tripping. Her ankles aches; her back throbbed; her head pounded as her breath came out in short pants; though the urge to get to her husband was undeniable. She dodged little children, who were playing outside; swerved around the market stalls and slightly missed market traders as she soon laid eyes on her old house.

It was just as she remembered it. The windows were covered with nothing but cloth. Her wooden door stood -wearily- looking like it was about to fall over any second. Though something was different. Smoke exited the chimney; which instantly made her realise that someone was home; Arthur was home.

She ran, almost slamming into the front door and opened it, to see her husband passed out on their bed. He snored gently; curled up against the wall; as Gwen awkwardly bent over to try and catch her breath.

"Need water,"she panted; before finding some fresh liquid and drinking it greedily. "Much better."

Walking over to Arthur, she lent over him and pressed her full lips against his sensitive spot behind his ear; letting them linger for a few moments. His eyelids flickered open; immediately thinking that his eyes were deceiving him.

"Guinevere." He chocked out; rubbing his eyes vigorously.

"Arthur,"She whispered as he sat up and she sat down; grasping her hands in his own. "You gave us quite a scare. You've been unconscience for about a week."

"Wh-what?" The prince questioned; his eyes widening as he looked up from placing chaste kisses on Guinevere's stomach as he whispered to their baby. Then realisation hitting him like a tonne of bricks.

"Your father, the knights and I; we all thought that we'd lost you." She almost stuttered; her eyes welling up; reliving the past week and the horrific event that stung her memory. He cupped her cheeks in his worked hands and softly stroked them.

"You met with my father?"

She nodded quickly; as Arthur began panicking straight away.

"We have to get out of here, Guinevere. He's not to be trusted. I'm not risking you and our Pendragon for him." Arthur jumped out of bed; letting go of Gwen's hands and began to pack.

"My love, there's no need." She tried as Arthur paused turned around and stared at her with wide icy eyes.

"What do you mean, "there's no need?"

"I've spoken to him. We don't have to be fearful anymore. Arthur, my love, he's nothing but a frail old man wanting his family back."

"Are you telling me that my father - Uther Pendragon; murderer of so many; king of Camelot - is Ok with our relationship? The one who has sentenced more people to death than the mistakes Merlin has ever made?"

"I know it's hard to believe; My love. I didn't believe it to begin with, yet he truly has he would have wanted us dead then he would have killed us by now, yet here we are."

"Here we are indeed," Arthur sighed; running his hands through her fair head, pacing around the room.

"I must go see him; find out what is happening. Please, Guinevere, stay here; i'll be back shortly."

She nodded quickly as he exited their house; heading toward the one place he never thought he'd go back to ever again.


	32. Chapter 32

**Yeah, everyone probably wants to kill me right now. I promised a long chapter and it's turned out to be 136 words. It's deliberate; just saying and the next chapter will certainly be longer. Sorry, you'll probably all be disappointed. :{L**

When the king woke in the morning, he didn't expect to feel like he did. His arms felt limp, his legs heavy and his head pounded; throbbing against his skull. Placing a hand to the pain; he closed his eyes and fell back onto his bed. He'd been to see Gwen earlier that morning after being notified that Arthur had gone missing, though Gaius had ordered him back to his bed; reassured that Gwen and the knights would find him. He opened his eyes; blinded by sunlight, and closed them again quickly; the headache only increasing in pain. The old man sighed, and tried to get up, holding onto the bed post as a safety measure. Yet, once he let go, he was in darkness. Uther slumped again the post, before dropping to the floor; unconscious.


End file.
